It is revealed that Israeli authorities conducted large-scale surveillance of Palestinians using 'Google Photos' etc.

It has been revealed that Israel's military intelligence is deploying an experimental facial recognition program in the Gaza Strip and using artificial intelligence programs to search for wanted criminals. In addition to technology from private companies, the military is also reportedly using Google Photos.

Israel Deploys Expansive Facial Recognition Program in Gaza - The New York Times

On March 27, 2024, The New York Times reported on the story of a Palestinian who was suddenly detained while trying to leave the Gaza Strip. According to reports, the Israeli military has installed a surveillance system that uses facial recognition technology, and an artificial intelligence program mistakenly identifies unrelated people as wanted criminals. This report revealed for the first time that the Israeli military is implementing a large-scale facial recognition program, and has been criticized for privacy concerns.

Sources say the facial recognition program was initially used to search for Israeli hostages taken by Hamas during a cross-border Hamas raid in October 2023. . Since Israel began its attack on the Gaza Strip, it has been used to eradicate people with ties to Hamas and other extremist groups, and as of the time of writing, several hundred people have been arrested. It has been reported.

The facial recognition program relies on technology from Corsight, a private Israeli company, and also uses Google Photos to supplement the system. An Israeli officer said, ``Google's facial recognition is superior to other technologies because it can identify a person even if only part of the face is visible.''

However, the act of collecting and cataloging the faces of Palestinians without their consent has been criticized by human rights groups, saying it ``may lead to the act of no longer considering people as human beings.'' In addition, there have been cases where unrelated people have been detained due to false positive detections by facial recognition programs, so it is considered to be a privacy and safety concern.

An Israeli military spokesperson declined to comment on operations in the Gaza Strip, saying, ``The military is carrying out the necessary security and intelligence operations, while making great efforts to minimize damage to unrelated populations.'' 'There is,' he simply said.

Biometric information, including facial information, is commonly used to monitor terrorists entering and exiting foreign countries (PDF file) . From 2002 to 2003, biometric information was collected by the United States in order to detain ISIL personnel in Afghanistan and Iraq, but the biometric information monitoring system built by the United States and other Western countries was hijacked by the Taliban. It has also been noted that thousands of Afghans are at risk.