Russian police go digital against protesters
Georgy Malets didn’t make it to an anti-Kremlin rally last month. He was detained on his way there by police using facial recognition technology in the Moscow metro.
The 30-year-old Russian photo blogger said the police told him he had been identified by a “Face-ID” camera system and must accompany them to a police station for checks.
Reports from other protesters who have attend rallies in recent weeks in support of jailed opposition politician Alexei Navalny also indicate police are using facial recognition technology to make preventive arrests and detentions.
An unnamed law enforcement source told TASS news agency the technology used images stored on a database of regular protesters. Rights advocates expressed concern surveillance systems were being used for this purpose.
Source: “Face control”: Russian police go digital against protesters | Reuters
