A court in Moscow on Wednesday rejected a lawsuit claiming the city's use of a facial recognition system breaks the law on personal data, a Sputnik correspondent reported from the hearing
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 06th November, 2019) A court in Moscow on Wednesday rejected a lawsuit claiming the city's use of a facial recognition system breaks the law on personal data, a Sputnik correspondent reported from the hearing.
Aliona Popova filed a lawsuit against the city's Interior Ministry office and Information Technology Department after she had been fined 20,000 rubles ($314) over participation in unauthorized picketing next to the building of the parliament. The woman believes that her biometric data had been collected during the rally and used to identify and fine her. According to her lawsuit, using facial recognition goes against the articles in the Russian Constitution that forbid harnessing and analyzing biometric data of people without their consent.
However, the defendants argued that Popova provided no proof that a facial recognition system had been used in her case. According to the Information Technology Department, case materials suggest that Popova had been identified by a law enforcement officer rather than any cameras or recordings. In addition, the department does not break the law on personal information as it is an agency tasked with ensuring public security.
"We only have a recording, no personal data of a person [even if they are captured on screen], we do not identify them, we have only a recording ... This should not worry citizens, cameras are directed at public spaces, not people," the department's representative said.
Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin said in the past that the Russian capital would be equipped with a large-scale facial recognition system using 200,000 cameras. Similar technology was used in Moscow during the FIFA World Cup.
