Incidents gathered from public reporting around the world. Each one links to the articles it came from. None of it is a finding that anyone broke the law.
Reports people file about their own experience are not shown here and never will be without their agreement. Tell us what happened to you.
164 incidents closest to “NeoFace Watch” · matched on meaning · public reporting
Fourth-grade students in Jiaxing, China, demonstrated that Hive Box's facial-recognition smart lockers could be opened with a printed photo. The company, which operates a large network of delivery lockers, acknowledged the flaw and suspended the beta feature. The incident raised concerns about the security of facial recognition technology.
1 source article · read the reporting →
The Ugandan police are accused of using a facial recognition system supplied by Huawei to track, arrest and torture anti-government protesters. The police confirmed they used images from the surveillance system to identify and detain more than 836 people involved in protests on November 18-19, 2020. Over 50 people were killed during the demonstrations. Critics say the system is unregulated and invades privacy.
10 source articles · read the reporting →
The New York City Police Department has used facial recognition technology since 2011 to compare images from criminal investigations with lawfully possessed arrest photos. The system generates possible matches that are then reviewed by human investigators before being used as leads. The NYPD states that no one has been arrested solely based on a facial recognition search and that it knows of no false arrests from such matches, though studies have found accuracy variations for certain demographic groups.
8 source articles · read the reporting →
PimEyes, a facial recognition search engine, is accused of scraping images from the internet and processing biometric data without a valid legal basis under the GDPR. The data protection authority of Baden-Württemberg (LfDI) opened fine proceedings after it found PimEyes's response to its questions inadequate. PimEyes argues that the images it processes are publicly available and not personal data. The LfDI says the processing endangers citizens' rights and freedoms and is not covered by the GDPR exceptions.
9 source articles · read the reporting →
The French National Police has been using Briefcam's Video Synopsis software since 2015, according to internal documents obtained by Disclose. The software, which includes facial recognition capabilities, was deployed without the required data protection impact assessment or notification to the CNIL. The Ministry of the Interior concealed the use of this tool for eight years. The police hierarchy allegedly used the software for facial recognition without judicial requisition, and the DGPN did not respond to requests for comment.
10 source articles · read the reporting →
Delhi Police used an Automated Facial Recognition System (AFRS) to screen crowds at Prime Minister Narendra Modi's rally on December 22, 2019. The system, originally installed to find missing children, was used to identify possible disruptions. Privacy advocates called the move illegal and unconstitutional, saying it amounts to mass surveillance. Police defended the use, citing credible intelligence about possible disruptions.
6 source articles · read the reporting →
The developer iperov has published DeepFaceLive, a neural network for real-time face swapping, on GitHub. The tool automatically replaces a user's face in live streams and video calls with a nonexistent model or a celebrity, and the installation instructions are simple. The developer claims 95% of deepfakes on YouTube were made with the related DeepFaceLab. No specific harm is reported, but the article highlights the tool's potential for misuse.
7 source articles · read the reporting →
In Johannesburg suburbs, Vumacam's AI-powered CCTV network using iSentry software flagged 28 black individuals as 'suspicious' in a shift report, according to a 2019 article. The system, deployed by private security firms, uses video analytics to detect abnormal behavior and alerts security guards. The article alleges that the system disproportionately targets people of color, reflecting racial bias in a racially divided country.
6 source articles · read the reporting →
PimEyes, a Polish facial recognition search engine, allows users to upload a photo and find matching images from across the internet. The system scrapes billions of photos and creates biometric profiles without consent. A banker named Dylan (pseudonym) discovered that an old party photo of him was found by the system, potentially outing his private life. Privacy advocates and platforms like Instagram and YouTube are taking action against PimEyes, alleging violations of the GDPR.
6 source articles · read the reporting →
Tencent has introduced a feature called Zero-Point Cruise in its games, which subjects accounts registered as adults that play at night beyond a set time to facial recognition. Anyone who refuses or fails the verification is treated as a minor and logged out. Tencent says this is intended to stop children using adult identities to evade the game curfew, and that adults who mistakenly refuse can wait for the next authentication.
10 source articles · read the reporting →
The Buenos Aires city government deployed a live facial recognition system in April 2019 that scans subway passengers and matches them against CONARC, a national database of alleged offenders. Human Rights Watch found that the database includes at least 166 children, some as young as one to three years old, and that the system has led to numerous false arrests. The system was implemented without public consultation, and there is no mechanism to correct mistakes. A civil rights organization filed a lawsuit, and the government is pushing a bill to legalize the technology.
1 source article · read the reporting →
Mohammed Khadeer, a 35-year-old man from Medak, was arrested by Telangana Police after a facial recognition system falsely matched his face to a suspect in a chain-snatching case. He was allegedly subjected to custodial torture and later died in hospital on 18 February 2023. The police acknowledged the error and released him after verifying his innocence, but he had already suffered severe injuries. The incident has raised concerns about the lack of transparency and accountability in the use of facial recognition technology by the police.
1 source article · read the reporting →
A man in Jiangsu, China, illegally purchased 1.95 million personal records and used AI face-swapping software to bypass facial recognition on financial platforms. He accessed 23 victims' accounts, changed five passwords, and used one account to buy two phones worth 15,996 yuan. He was convicted of infringing citizens' personal information and credit card fraud, sentenced to four years and six months in prison, and ordered to pay damages and delete the data.
3 source articles · read the reporting →
Davi, a black administrative assistant, was tracked across 15 metro stations and approached by police after Bahia's facial recognition system falsely matched him to a wanted person. He was released after officers verified his identity. The system, supplied by Iecisa and Huawei, has a low accuracy rate and disproportionately affects black people. The government plans to expand it despite concerns over racial bias and errors.
2 source articles · read the reporting →
Clearview AI, a secretive start-up, built a facial recognition app that matches photos to a database of more than three billion images scraped from social media and websites. More than 600 law enforcement agencies, including the FBI and Department of Homeland Security, have used the tool to identify suspects in crimes such as shoplifting, identity theft and murder. The company monitored officers who ran a reporter's photo through the app, and its founder acknowledged designing an augmented-reality prototype but said there were no plans to release it. Critics warned the tool could end anonymity and enable misuse.
2 source articles · read the reporting →
A 62-year-old woman in New Taipei City was deceived by scammers using AI face-changing technology to impersonate Hong Kong star Andy Lau. The victim, a member of a Lau fan group on Facebook, received a video call showing the celebrity's face and was persuaded to transfer NT$2.64 million. Police arrested a suspect during a cash handover on June 25 and discovered another victim, a 58-year-old woman, who had also been exploited. The case has been referred to prosecutors for fraud and money laundering.
2 source articles · read the reporting →
The Xuhui District branch of the Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Public Security is expanding its Intelligent Image Recognition System, adding 2,500 facial recognition cameras and increased computing capacity to build profiles of residents and flag deviations. The project, contracted to US-sanctioned FiberHome, is designed to match each face to files on more than 50 million people. Officials say the system will analyse behaviour patterns and trigger early warnings.
3 source articles · read the reporting →
A Facebook page published an AI-generated video impersonating US-based Nigerian scientist Samuel Achilefu and a TVC News presenter to promote a fake heart disease remedy called Cordis. The video falsely claimed the product could revitalise blood vessels and stabilise blood pressure. Achilefu denied involvement and reported the video to the FBI. AFP Fact Check found the video was created using AI and the product's manufacturer denied producing it.
2 source articles · read the reporting →
A deepfake video on Facebook used AI to impersonate Nigerian actor Taiwo Ajai-Lycett and doctor Chinonso Egemba, falsely claiming they endorsed a hypertension cure. The video, viewed over 98,000 times, is entirely fabricated; no such product exists. Africa Check debunked the video, noting the machine-generated voices and lack of any credible reports. The celebrities have previously denied similar fake endorsements.
2 source articles · read the reporting →
In April 2025, Trevis Williams was arrested by the NYPD after a facial recognition program matched his mug shot to a suspect in a February flashing incident, despite an eight-inch height difference and alibi evidence. The victim identified him from the AI-suggested photo array. Mr. Williams spent over two days in jail before the case was dismissed in July. The incident highlights the risks of using facial recognition on low-quality surveillance images.
2 source articles · read the reporting →
Dahua Technology's publicly available SDK was found to contain code for detecting Uyghur ethnicity, enabling Chinese police to covertly track the persecuted minority. The revelation led to widespread criticism, and Dahua removed the SDK after being contacted by IPVM but did not comment. The company had previously been sanctioned by the US for complicity in human rights abuses against Uyghurs, and its software is part of a massive surveillance apparatus in Xinjiang.
1 source article · read the reporting →
Ousmane Bah, an 18-year-old student, alleges that Apple and its security firm used facial recognition software to incorrectly identify him as a shoplifter in multiple Apple Store thefts. He was arrested at his home and missed school, causing emotional distress and academic harm. While charges in New York and Boston were dropped after a detective noted Bah looked nothing like the suspect, a case in New Jersey remains pending. Apple denies using facial recognition in its stores, but the lawsuit claims the technology was used by its security contractor.
5 source articles · read the reporting →
France has deployed AI software from startup DatakaLab in the Paris metro to check if passengers are wearing face masks. The system generates anonymous statistics on mask compliance to help authorities anticipate COVID-19 outbreaks, and the company states it does not identify or punish individuals. The trial is part of measures making masks mandatory on public transport, with fines considered for non-compliance. Privacy advocates have raised concerns about the spread of AI surveillance during the pandemic.
1 source article · read the reporting →
The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD) used 'non-suitable' probe images in 451 of 924 facial recognition searches in 2019, greatly increasing the risk of false identifications. The system, supplied by Vigilant Solutions, returned likely matches in only 18% of those searches, yet led to arrests in at least 73 cases. Critics and researchers warn this practice heightens the chance of wrongful arrests, and one defence attorney said he was never informed facial recognition was used to identify his client.
1 source article · read the reporting →
