"Privacy fears as India police use facial recognition at rally", 30 December 2019

Police in the Indian capital of New Delhi used facial recognition software to screen crowds at a recent political rally [for Narendra Modi]... raising concerns about privacy and mass surveillance amid nationwide protests against a new citizenship law... "The use of the system for profiling and surveillance at public congregations is illegal and unconstitutional. It is an act of mass surveillance," said Apar Gupta [Executive Director, Internet Freedom Foundation]... "Delhi Police assures that best industry standard checks and balances against any potential misuse of data are in place. Racial or religious profiling is never a relevant parameter while building these datasets," [said a Delhi Police Spokesperson]... Use of the technology at the political rally comes amid nationwide protests against a new citizenship law, in which at least 26 people have been killed... Pictures of police holding video cameras at some protests have sparked concerns that images of protesters are being added to the facial recognition database.