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ISRAEL IS USING BIOMETRIC MASS SURVEILLANCE AGAINST PALESTINIANS IN GAZA

THIS WEEK WE REITERATED OUR CALL [3] TO ISRAEL TO END THE WAR IN
PALESTINE, AND TO STOP THE USE OF BIOMETRIC MASS SURVEILLANCE AGAINST THE
PEOPLE OF GAZA.

Recent reports from _The New York Times_ [4] have revealed that the use of
facial recognition and AI-powered tools is contributing to the suffering
and killing of civilians. Following the 7 October 2023 attacks by Hamas,
Israeli intelligence officers began using facial recognition technology to
conduct mass surveillance of people in Gaza, with the alleged aim of
identifying individuals based on their affiliation with Hamas or other
groups.

ARTICLE 19 has long advocated [5] that the untargeted use of facial
recognition supporting mass surveillance in public spaces is incompatible
with international human rights law. Because of the intrinsic invasiveness
of facial recognition technology, it should only be used in exceptional
circumstances, justified by and tied to a specific legitimate purpose,
permitted under international law.

Yet the Israeli army has failed to be transparent about its use of facial
recognition technology. This, coupled with the scarce information coming
out of Gaza, makes it extremely difficult to scrutinise Israel’s actions.

Biometric technology is not always accurate – far from it. Numerous
studies [6] demonstrate that facial recognition fails on accuracy,
particularly for underrepresented or historically disadvantaged groups.

In the case of Palestinian poet Mosab Abu Toha, a contributor to _The New
Yorker_ [7], Israel’s deployment of biometric mass surveillance resulted
in him being wrongly identified – with severe consequences. After Abu
Toha was misidentified based on data generated by facial recognition
technology, he was beaten and interrogated in an Israeli detention centre
for two days before being returned to Gaza.

READ OUR CALL [2]

WHAT CAN WE DO?

The devastation in Gaza is unimaginable, reaching levels of human suffering
not seen there before.

We call for freedom of expression to be upheld in Palestine and the
Occupied Territories, and for the protection of journalists who bring vital
information to the world.

This means adding our voice to calls for companies designing, developing,
and selling biometric and other AI technologies to adhere to the UN Guiding
Principles on Business and Human Rights. That means a requirement to
respect both international human rights and international humanitarian law
in armed conflict. These businesses must guarantee transparency,
accountability, and liability in all life cycle phases of these
technologies.

We must continue to call on Israel to end its war on civilians and urgently
implement the International Court of Justice’s provisional measures
order, [8] which acknowledged the spread of famine and starvation in Gaza.
Israel must ensure the unhindered provision of humanitarian assistance to
the population.

Most importantly, Israel must bring this conflict to an immediate end.

GET INVOLVED. ISRAEL MUST STOP USING BIOMETRIC MASS SURVEILLANCE AGAINST
PALESTINIANS.

JOIN THE CALL [9]

Copyright © 2024 ARTICLE 19, All rights reserved.

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