How facial recognition technology threatens basic privacy rights

As adoption of facial recognition systems continues to grow worldwide, there is increasing concern that this technology could undermine fundamental privacy rights and how it can be kept in check.

Surveillance and facial recognition technologies have become a common fixture in today’s interconnected world over the past few years. 

Whether monitoring people in airports, searching for wanted criminals, allowing users to unlock their phones or creating targeted marketing campaigns, adoption of this technology has become widespread and resulted in many useful applications. But it has also generated legitimate concerns around privacy and security.

As worries that these systems threaten basic human threats to privacy continue to grow, there is increasing pressure on governments and organisations to introduce stricter rules to keep them in check.