Mosab Abu Toha, a Palestinian poet, was stopped at an Israeli military checkpoint in Gaza on Nov. 19 and taken for interrogation after being identified by a facial recognition program. The program, run by Israel’s military intelligence unit, uses technology from Corsight and Google Photos to conduct mass surveillance and collect faces of Palestinians without their knowledge.
Initially used to search for Israelis taken hostage by Hamas, the program expanded to target individuals with ties to Hamas or other militant groups. Despite concerns about misidentification and misuse of resources, the program continues to be used for surveillance purposes in Gaza.
Facial recognition technology has raised concerns globally, with some countries using it for convenience while others employ it for surveillance and suppression. Israel’s use of facial recognition technology in Gaza is particularly significant due to its application in a war zone.
The expansion of the program in Gaza coincided with Israel’s military offensive in the region, leading to increased surveillance and identification of individuals, including false positives and mistakes in identification.
The guidelines for stopping individuals were broad, leading to cases like Mosab Abu Toha being wrongly identified as a Hamas operative. Despite his denial of any connection to Hamas, he was detained and interrogated before being released without explanation.
Mr. Abu Toha’s experience highlights the impact of facial recognition technology on individuals’ privacy and rights, especially in conflict zones like Gaza.
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