← the record
AIAAIC-0787

New Delhi police rapped for using facial recognition to monitor India citizenship law protests

New Delhi police used facial recognition and drones to identify and detain protestors marching against India's Citizenship Law, prompting accusations of privacy abuse and unnecessary surveillance. Critics argued that the use of the system for profiling and surveillance at public congregations wass illegal and unconstitutional, and that it directly impaired the rights of ordinary Indians from assembly, speech and political participation . The Delhi Police defended their use of the technology, stating it was based on credible intelligence inputs about possible disruptions . They assured that best industry standard checks and balances against any potential misuse of data were in place . This event occurred amidst nationwide protests against a new citizenship law, during which at least 26 people were killed . The law was said to marginalise Muslims. System 🤖 Automated Facial Recognition System (AFRS) Developer: Innefu Labs, Staqu Country: India Sector: Govt - police Purpose: Identify criminals, protestors Technology: Facial recognition Issue: Human/civil rights; Privacy; Surveillance

Date it happened
2020-02-01
Organisation involved
Delhi Police, Uttar Pradesh Police
Product, system or model
Innefu Labs AI Vision; Staqu Police Artificial Intelligence System
Where this came from
Share this incident
XLinkedInFacebookWhatsAppEmail
Attribution

This incident was imported from AIAAIC and is used under CC BY-SA 4.0. Our additions to it — the structured fields, the translation, the checks against other reports — are published under the same licence.

This is a record of what was reported, not a finding that anyone broke the law. If it names your organisation and you believe it is wrong, the corrections process is free and open to everyone.