Teachers and students of the Telangana’s government schools will likely have to mark their attendance on an app that uses facial recognition technology (FRT), even as groups emphasising the right to privacy continue to raise concerns about the use of this technology.
“There is need for extra sensitivity when CCTVs and FRT are being used for children,” said Anushka Jain of Internet Freedom Foundation (IFF), adding, “We do not count the consent of a child in such cases in law. When any such action is taken, parents must be informed. It is a murky area.” Ms. Jain underscored that the consequences of FR technology are different in the case of children as compared to adults. Consent in connection with such technologies too works differently.
The Project Panoptic (PP), a community-run initiative of the IFF, flagged the issue on Saturday. PP also flagged a similar tender that was issued by the Indian Telephone Industries Limited. The PP, that has been at the forefront of raising privacy and data protection concerns, described the move as an “assault” on the right to privacy in Telangana.
