The Use of Facial Recognition in Putin's Crackdown on Dissent

The Russian government is using facial recognition technology to prevent anti-government protests and detain Kremlin opponents as a preventive measure. The Moscow metro's facial recognition system has played an important role in the arrests of hundreds of protesters, and at least 141 people were detained preventively in 2022. Western technology has aided the crackdown, with at least three Russian firms using chips from U.S. firms Nvidia Corp or Intel Corp in conjunction with their algorithms. The use of facial recognition against protesters and activists in Moscow likely constitutes human rights violations, according to seven lawyers.