CHENNAI: The Chennai police’s use of the Facial Recognition System (FRS) in recent times has raised questions of legality and concerns of data privacy from politicians and experts. This comes after a man took to the social media platform Twitter on December 8, narrating an incident in which police stopped him in Nanganallur, took a photo of him, and let him go. Responding to the tweet, the Greater Chennai Police Twitter handle said FRS was used during nights to identify criminals and there was “nothing to worry.”
The FRS used by Tamil Nadu police contains roughly 6.6 lakh photographs of known delinquents. The system came into use on November 20 to identify suspects who are absconding or jumped bail. It was set up at a cost of Rs 36 lakh by the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) in Kolkata, known for its biometric expertise.
“Transparency regarding the data sought by police is necessary. While the police claim no photos are stored in the system, it is known that every system has a space to log captured data. If there is no log space, the efficiency of the system can’t be measured,” public interest technologist Srikanth L said. An oversight dashboard, open to the public could be set up, he suggested, adding it would provide real-time information on the use of such systems to check police excesses.
The police’s tweet also caught the attention of lawmakers. In a December 13 letter to the Chennai city police commissioner, Karti P Chidambaram, Lok Sabha MP from Sivaganga, questioned the system’s legality. “In the absence of legal provisions and safeguards that clearly lay down the FRT (facial recognition technology) regime, the use of such systems is illegal,” he said, contending it is a clear violation of the fundamental right to privacy upheld by Supreme Court in the Puttaswamy case.
Meanwhile, D Ravikumar, Lok Sabha MP from Villupuram, in his letter to Chief Minister MK Stalin, said that in the absence of legal backing and Standard Operating Procedure for such acts, several questions regarding the use of such photographs remain unanswered. “Additionally, since it is the police taking these photos, free consent can also not be given as it is difficult to refuse something when demanded by someone in as high a position of authority as the police,” he said.
However, Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) of State Crime Records Bureau, Vinit Dev Wankhede claimed that police are allowed to take photographs of individuals under the Criminal Identification Act. “FRS works in probability mode. When a person is scanned, it provides 20-30 matches. If the personnel on ground find the person suspicious they can check if he is a wanted suspect, based on which further action will be taken,” he said.
“I understand people have concerns. But the system helps police nab suspects who run hundreds of kilometres away,” said Wankhede, adding that about 5,000-6,000 people in Tamil Nadu are put through the system everyday. Asked if the system helps in trial, he said, “FRS is a prevention and detection tool rather than a prosecution tool.”
DGP K Jayanth Murali said, “With every technological advance there should be laws to ensure it does not fall into wrong hands. Unfortunately, laws are amended only when misuse is exposed and by then the violators have upgraded.” He added police is unchecked in collecting data with regard to CCTV cameras and FRS and the public should not be complacent. Srikkanth said the Data Protection Bill pending before a joint parliamentary committee should include state governments as entities storing data of the public