"Fears for children's privacy as Delhi schools install facial recognition", 2 March 2021

Facial recognition technologies installed in at least a dozen government-funded schools in Delhi are an "overreach" by Indian authorities and an invasion of children's privacy, digital rights advocates said...

The move to introduce facial recognition technology follows a 2019 decision by the Delhi city government to mount closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras in more than 700 public schools to ensure the safety of students.

...Facial recognition technology is being increasingly deployed in airports, railway stations and cafes across India, with plans for a nationwide system to modernise the police force and its information gathering and criminal identification processes.

...Delhi authorities did not respond to requests for comment, but previously said that CCTV had reduced truancy in schools.

Facial recognition systems are often rolled out without a privacy policy or consent from guardians to collect and process the data of minors, said Prasanth Sugathan, legal director at Software Freedom Law Centre, a digital rights nonprofit.

....The Internet Freedom Foundation's Project Panoptic tracks more than 40 facial recognition projects across the country, with Hyderabad, Chennai and Delhi among cities with the most surveillance networks in the world, according to tech site Comparitech.