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HELLFIRE
MVM
join:2009-11-25

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HELLFIRE

MVM

How much for for access to Russia's facial recog cams? 16,000RUB/$200 a pop

»www.reuters.com/article/ ··· BN27P10U
quote:
TBILISI (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - When Anna Kuznetsova saw an ad offering access to Moscow’s face recognition cameras, all she had to do was pay 16,000 roubles ($200) and send a photo of the person she wanted spying on. The 20-year-old - who was acting as a volunteer for a digital rights group investigating leaks in Moscow’s pervasive surveillance system - sent over a picture of herself and waited. Two days later and her phone buzzed. The seller had forwarded the paralegal a detailed list of all the addresses in the Russian capital where she had been spotted by cameras over the previous month, her lawyers said. “It was really incredible,” said Sarkis Darbinyan, a lawyer for Roskomsvoboda, the group behind the investigation. “We got a report of all her movements in Moscow.” The incident is now under police investigation. Far from an aberration, the incident is at the centre of one of several lawsuits brought in recent months by rights activists against the Russian authorities over their use of face recognition. The rise of cloud computing and AI technologies have popularised the technology globally, with supporters saying it promises greater security and efficiency. But the backlash is growing, too, as critics say benefits come at the cost of lost privacy and increased surveillance. With more than 105,000 cameras, Moscow boasts one of the world’s most comprehensive surveillance systems. It became fully operational this year and authorities say it has cut crime and helped the city enforce coronavirus lockdown restrictions. But rights activists say cameras have been used to monitor political rallies and a lack of clear rules allows for abuse. Kuznetsova replied to one of several ads offering facial recognition records on Telegram, a popular messaging app, according to her lawyer Ekaterina Abashina, who also works for Roskomsvoboda. Then all it took were a couple of messages, with no questions asked about how the results would be used or by whom, said Abashina. Kuznetsova was sent 79 snapshots that positively identified her in the city, alongside times and addresses. Current regulations do not clearly define how and when police can access the cameras nor establish mechanisms for judicial or public oversight, said Darbinyan. “What we have right now is a system that doesn’t have any kind of control,” he said. Kuznetsova and Roskomsvoboda have filed a suit seeking to pause facial recognition until clear rules are in place, as well as damages, with the case set to be heard in December.
EMP mine. Take what you will from this article.

Regards

Blackbird
Built for Speed
Premium Member
join:2005-01-14
Fort Wayne, IN

7 recommendations

Blackbird

Premium Member

said by HELLFIRE:

»www.reuters.com/article/ ··· BN27P10U

quote:
... Current regulations do not clearly define how and when police can access the cameras nor establish mechanisms for judicial or public oversight, said Darbinyan. “What we have right now is a system that doesn’t have any kind of control,” he said. Kuznetsova and Roskomsvoboda have filed a suit seeking to pause facial recognition until clear rules are in place...
... Take what you will from this article.

It's Russia. The regulations and controls will finally come... but only to block the 'legal' dissemination of the data to non-LEA groups. There isn't a breath of a chance that the governmental organs will abandon the use of the technology and data... and once that happens, the rights groups will lose any window into the extent of the practice.
HELLFIRE
MVM
join:2009-11-25

3 recommendations

HELLFIRE

MVM

Not just Russia, but any other country where the rules, regulations and laws come well after the technology has wormed its way into everyday life.
aka "I never knew [insert here] would be so popular!" would make a fitting epithet to chisel onto the tombstone of Humanity.

My Cynical 00000010bits

Regards