Why in news?
- A Request for Proposal for Automated Facial Recognition System (AFRS), to be used by police across the country, has been issued by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB).
- AFRS functions through the management of a large database of photos and videos of the faces of the people. In order to find a match to identify the person, a new image of an unidentified person often from CCTV footage is matched with the existing database. “Neural networks” is the artificial intelligence system used for pattern recognition and matching.
- It plays an important role in crime prevention nd detection.
- The verification of documents etc. may also be fast tracked.
- It’s a mobile application and web-based application hosted in Delhi.
- You may use artificial intelligence to compare two pictures of an individual from different sources.
- It is said to be interlinked into several sites currently operating such as CCTNS or Khoya Paya and also Fraud and crime monitoring networks.
Concerns:
- The AFRS is being contemplated at a time when India does not have a data protection law. In the absence of safeguards, law enforcement agencies will have a high degree of discretion. This can lead to a mission creep. The Personal Data Protection Bill 2018 is yet to come into force, and even if it does, the exceptions contemplated for state agencies are extremely wide.
