Facial recognition is now used in the metro in Moscow, Russia. A new step in the deployment of a still controversial technology in the country, which has been used in particular to identify protesters.
It sounds like science fiction, and yet it is real. In Moscow, Russia, facial recognition has just appeared on the metro. Indeed, a camera scans the faces of the passengers, all volunteers to lend themselves to a demonstration orchestrated by the Russian authorities. According to official sources, payment by facial recognition is used to facilitate the movement of users.
“Passengers don’t need to have their phone or metro card, or any other type of ticket with them now., explains Anna Lapouchkina, deputy head of the press service of the transport department. All they need to do is upload their data to an application, their photo and attach a bank card. “ To find out more about the use of these biometric data, franceinfo contacted the transport department. To date, no response has been provided.
The metro is a new step in the massive deployment of this controversial technology. In Russia, facial recognition is already used to pay in supermarkets. In the streets of Moscow, it made it possible to control compliance with containment. But that’s not all. During a demonstration in support of the political opponent Alexeï Navalny, in the capital, it was used by the police to identify demonstrators. Dozens of activists were then arrested at their homes, according to Amnesty International. Now tens of thousands of cameras are installed in Moscow.