According to Reuters, the city of Moscow with 12.7 million people owns one of the largest video surveillance systems in the world. This place has used recognition technology to control Covid-19 cases and political protests.
Passengers can choose to use facial recognition to pay for tickets through the “Face Pay” system at the turnstiles with cameras at train stations.
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Passengers looking at the camera at the turnstile |
“Moscow is the first city in the world to have this system working on such a scale,” said Maxim Liksutov, head of the transport department in Moscow.
This person also said that using Face Pay is completely voluntary, other payment methods still work in parallel.
Before using the Face Pay system, passengers must submit a photo of themselves, linked to their train and bank cards through the Moscow Metro app. To step onto the subway, they simply log in by pointing their faces at the camera at the turnstile.
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The system does not require the use of cash, in order to limit the spread of Covid-19 |
The Moscow transport ministry says passenger data will be securely encrypted. However, some activist groups are concerned that the system will invade citizens’ privacy.
Roskomsvoboda, a group that protects digital rights and freedom of information, has warned that Face Pay can be used for surveillance purposes.
Moscow also deployed a facial recognition system on the subway to detect wanted criminals in 2018, when Russia hosted the World Cup.
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