UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet... called on States and businesses to ensure that new technologies, including facial recognition and so-called ‘less-lethal weapons,’ are developed and used in ways that do not disrupt and prevent people’s ability to exercise their fundamental rights to peaceful assembly and expression, and their right to participate in public affairs.

The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has today published a report examining the impact of new technologies on the promotion and protection of human rights in the context of assemblies, including peaceful protests... Technology-enabled surveillance has been a major factor in the shrinking of civic space in many countries, with States resorting to intrusive online surveillance and the hacking of ICT tools and social media accounts used by those planning or organizing protests, as well as of protesters themselves... The report also details the responsibility of private companies to carry out human rights due diligence, in particular to ensure that data protection and non-discrimination requirements are included in the design and implementation of these technologies.

... There should be a moratorium on the use of facial recognition technology in the context of peaceful protests, until States meet certain conditions including human rights due diligence before deploying it. These include effective, independent oversight of its use; strict privacy and data protection laws; and full transparency about the use of image recordings and facial recognition technology in the context of assemblies.