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.
44 incidents closest to “MBIS (Multi-Biometric Identification System)” · matched on meaning · public reporting
The Home Office has admitted that facial recognition technology used by UK police is biased. The admission acknowledges potential discrimination in the system's operation. Details of the bias and its impact were not disclosed in the headline.
4 source articles · read the reporting →
The city of Buenos Aires deployed a facial recognition system in 2019 that led to at least 140 false positives, resulting in police stops and arrests. Guillermo Federico Ibarrola was mistakenly identified as a criminal and spent five days in prison. Judicial investigations found evidence of irregularities and possible misuse for surveillance, leading to the system's deactivation. The city is now in a legal battle to reactivate it, while data privacy activists have sued.
1 source article · read the reporting →
Москвича трижды задержали из-за сбоя системы распознавания лиц - Вот Так
A Moscow resident, Sergey, was detained by law enforcement three times over two days in August after the Sfera facial recognition system mistakenly flagged him. He was briefly held and released each time, once in handcuffs for several hours. He fears such systems could be used to swiftly round up conscripts if a new mobilization wave occurs.
1 source article · read the reporting →
During an immigration raid in Oregon, ICE agents used the Mobile Fortify facial recognition app on a detained woman to determine her identity and immigration status. The app returned two different incorrect names, according to testimony from a CBP official. ICE has claimed the app provides a definitive determination of immigration status, but this incident raises concerns about its accuracy. The misidentification could have led to wrongful removal proceedings.
1 source article · read the reporting →
A court in São Paulo ordered the suspension of a facial recognition system in the city's metro stations following a lawsuit by civil society groups. The system, SecurOS by ISS and operated by ViaQuatro, was capturing biometric data of millions of daily users without adequate transparency or risk assessment. The court also barred the metro operator, METRO, from installing new biometric equipment and imposed daily fines for non-compliance. METRO stated it would appeal the ruling and prove compliance with data protection regulations.
3 source articles · read the reporting →
Israel's military has installed facial recognition technology, reportedly supplied by AnyVision, at West Bank checkpoints to verify the identities of Palestinians crossing into Israel. The system matches travellers' faces against a biometric database, reducing wait times but drawing criticism from human rights groups who argue it entrenches military occupation and raises privacy concerns. Critics also allege the technology may be used in a separate, more confidential programme to track potential assailants, which officials did not confirm.
10 source articles · read the reporting →
The RCMP in British Columbia secretly subscribed to IntelCenter's facial recognition service, which matched faces against a database of 700,000 faces tied to terrorism. Internal emails revealed the force broke its own procurement rules and hid the purchase. The RCMP claimed it was only for testing, but documents showed active use. The contracts ended in 2019.
10 source articles · read the reporting →
Israel is using Corsight facial recognition technology in Gaza to identify terror suspects, according to intelligence officials. The system has also misidentified civilians. A Palestinian poet alleges he was detained after being flagged by the AI. The IDF declined to comment on operational capabilities.
3 source articles · read the reporting →
Lockport City School District deployed SN Technologies' AEGIS face and weapons detection system in January 2020. Parents and the New York Civil Liberties Union allege the system misidentifies Black people more often than white people and falsely detects weapons such as broom handles. A lawsuit was filed against the New York State Education Department seeking to ban facial recognition in schools. SN Technologies denied misleading the district.
1 source article · read the reporting →
The Chinese government, collaborating with AI company iFlytek, has been collecting voice pattern samples to build a national voice biometric database. Police use an Automatic Speaker Recognition system to automatically identify targeted voices in phone conversations and alert authorities. Human Rights Watch reports that the collection occurs with little transparency, and individuals may not know their voice patterns have been taken or be able to challenge the surveillance. iFlytek has not responded to Human Rights Watch's inquiries about the program.
10 source articles · read the reporting →
South Korea's Ministry of Justice and Ministry of Science and ICT are building an AI identification and tracking system using facial recognition for airport immigration. It was revealed that over 170 million facial photos of citizens and foreigners were transferred to private companies for AI training without proper legal basis. Civil society groups held a press conference on November 9, 2021, condemning the project as an unprecedented violation of information human rights and demanding its immediate halt. They argue the data transfer violates the Personal Information Protection Act and have requested a meeting with the Minister of Justice.
5 source articles · read the reporting →
Human Rights Watch reverse-engineered a police app used in Xinjiang, China, revealing that the Integrated Joint Operations Platform (IJOP) collects vast personal data and flags individuals as suspicious based on broad criteria. The system targets ethnic Uyghurs and Turkic Muslims, leading to mass arbitrary detention, forced indoctrination, and movement restrictions. The Chinese government operates the system, supplied by a subsidiary of CETC, and has not informed or obtained consent from those surveilled. The report calls for shutting down the system and releasing detainees.
2 source articles · read the reporting →
Hikvision, a Chinese surveillance company, sold a facial recognition system powered by NVIDIA to authorities in the People's Republic of China. The system is designed to identify Uyghur individuals, enabling ethnic profiling and surveillance. The article reports that the system was marketed as a tool for public security and was deployed without transparency or accountability. No specific incident of harm is described, but the potential for widespread discrimination and human rights abuses is highlighted.
10 source articles · read the reporting →
Anderstorp gymnasium in Skellefteå, Sweden, used a facial recognition system for a few weeks in autumn 2018 to automatically register students' attendance when they entered a classroom. The system, made by an unnamed manufacturer, replaced teachers' manual attendance records for one class. Pupils were mostly satisfied, and the school's principal described the technology as safe. Skellefteå municipality and the manufacturer are discussing a possible continuation, with the manufacturer recommending consultation with Datainspektionen before scaling up.
10 source articles · read the reporting →
Microsoft invested in AnyVision, an Israeli facial recognition company whose technology powers a secret military surveillance project in the West Bank. The system, called Better Tomorrow, identifies and tracks Palestinians in live camera feeds. Microsoft said it would audit AnyVision for compliance with its ethical principles.
10 source articles · read the reporting →
A year-long pilot project of facial recognition technology was carried out at Berlin-Südkreuz train station from August 2017 to July 2018. The project was initiated by the German Ministry of the Interior, federal and state police, and supported by Deutsche Bahn. The pilot became a catalyst for media attention, spurring discourse on the efficiency and legitimacy of surveillance technology.
10 source articles · read the reporting →
Migrants and advocates report that the U.S. Customs and Border Protection's CBP One app, used to schedule asylum appointments, frequently crashes and fails to recognize photographs of Black individuals, particularly affecting Haitians. The app also splits families and assigns appointments at distant border crossings, causing long waits in dangerous conditions. CBP did not respond to requests for comment.
4 source articles · read the reporting →
The Beijing Subway plans to introduce security screenings that use an AI-powered camera system to divide passengers into groups based on facial recognition. The system is intended to single out people for different security measures, aiming to speed up subway traffic. The article does not report any specific incident of harm or complaint.
10 source articles · read the reporting →
Chinese technology companies CloudWalk and Huawei have supplied facial recognition systems to the governments of Zimbabwe and Uganda for law enforcement and administration. The systems are alleged to be inaccurate for dark-skinned individuals, potentially leading to false positives and unwarranted surveillance. Digital rights advocates warn that these systems could exacerbate civil liberties abuses in countries with weak legal protections. The use of these technologies is part of China's growing geopolitical influence and corporate expansion in Africa.
10 source articles · read the reporting →
The Buenos Aires city government recused Judge Roberto Gallardo after he suspended the Sistema de Reconocimiento Facial de Prófugos, a facial recognition system used to identify and detain individuals with outstanding arrest warrants. The government claims the judge's ruling was politically motivated and that the system has helped capture over 1,600 fugitives. The government is challenging the suspension in court.
10 source articles · read the reporting →
The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has introduced a facial recognition system for Class 10 and 12 students to access their digital academic documents. A live image of the student is compared with the photograph on their CBSE admit card and, if the match succeeds, the certificate is emailed to them. The facility is available on Digi Locker for 2020 records and is expected to help foreign students and those unable to open a Digi Locker account.
10 source articles · read the reporting →
The Italian State Police have been using a facial recognition system called SARI since July 2018, based on a database of 16 million mugshots. The system has helped in arrests but has raised civil rights concerns because nine million of the mugshots belong to people stopped only once. A parliamentary question has been filed seeking more details, but has not yet been answered. The Italian Data Protection Authority has found the system compliant with the law.
10 source articles · read the reporting →
In April 2018, ViaQuatro installed the Digital Interactive Doors System, developed by AdMobilize, on the São Paulo metro's yellow line. The system used cameras to detect passengers' faces and claimed to infer their emotion, age, and gender in order to target advertisements. The Brazilian Institute of Consumer Protection (IDEC) filed a public civil action alleging that the system violated consumer and data protection laws by processing biometric data without consent and making pseudoscientific and discriminatory inferences. A judge ordered the cameras removed in August 2018, and the case is pending a final ruling.
10 source articles · read the reporting →
In 2016, the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) secretly tested facial recognition technology on millions of travellers at Toronto Pearson Airport without their knowledge. The system, supplied by Face4 Systems, matched faces against a database of previously deported individuals. The CBSA stated that no one was deported as a result of the pilot, and the technology was removed after six months. Privacy advocates raised concerns about lack of consent, transparency, and potential racial bias.
8 source articles · read the reporting →
