Putin’s regime finances mass surveillance based on artificial intelligence. Thanks to the system of facial recognition tested during the football championships in Russia and Qatar, it seeks out “disloyal” individuals such as those who participated in Alexei Navalny’s funeral, investigative journalists from the frontstory.pl website reported.
These are the findings of an investigation based on Kremlin Leaks data conducted by an international team of journalists examining leaks from official Russian documents from the years 2020-2023.
According to these files, Russia funds a massive “surveillance apparatus based on artificial intelligence, which can surveil citizens in real-time. The system connects cameras installed in public spaces with the so-called video transmission processing cente.”
The facial recognition system operates in 60 regions in the country, the CEO of the Russian company NtechLab, which specializes in neural network tools, reported last year.
From the Kremlin documents obtained by journalists, it appears that Putin aims to spend 11.2 billion rubles (over EUR 111 million) on the development of the system by 2026.
NtechLab’s FindFace technology has already been extensively used during the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. Its system was connected to cameras in stadiums, fan zones, and surrounding cities, monitoring the 1.8 million people gathered there. NtechLab registered their biometric data and compared it with criminal databases. “The system was able to identify a person within two seconds,” writes frontstory.pl.
The Russian surveillance system was also reportedly tested during the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
According to these files, Russia funds a massive “surveillance apparatus based on artificial intelligence, which can surveil citizens in real-time. The system connects cameras installed in public spaces with the so-called video transmission processing cente.”
The facial recognition system operates in 60 regions in the country, the CEO of the Russian company NtechLab, which specializes in neural network tools, reported last year.
From the Kremlin documents obtained by journalists, it appears that Putin aims to spend 11.2 billion rubles (over EUR 111 million) on the development of the system by 2026.
NtechLab’s FindFace technology has already been extensively used during the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. Its system was connected to cameras in stadiums, fan zones, and surrounding cities, monitoring the 1.8 million people gathered there. NtechLab registered their biometric data and compared it with criminal databases. “The system was able to identify a person within two seconds,” writes frontstory.pl.
The Russian surveillance system was also reportedly tested during the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
Total surveillance to counter opposition
In 2023, Reuters published a report describing how facial recognition allows the Russian regime to suppress protests. It was used, among other things, against protesters opposing the aggression against Ukraine.
In July 2023, the European Union imposed sanctions on NtechLab for cooperating with the Kremlin.
According to journalists’ information, the facial recognition system was used to identify participants at Alexei Navalny’s funeral. The Russian human rights organization OVD-Info indicates that it has already found 19 cases of people who were arrested after the funeral thanks to facial recognition technology.
Social media in the crosshairs
Kremlin aims to create a “system based on artificial intelligence to control social media, which will detect prohibited content in photos with the ability to analyze at least 200,000 photos a day.”
It is noted in the material that the founders of NtechLab now distance themselves from the Kremlin. They boast that they have signed an anti-war petition. “It has become clear that the country is heading towards a disaster, although no one could imagine that the country would start a war,” said Artem Kukharenko, founder of the company.
In 2023, Reuters published a report describing how facial recognition allows the Russian regime to suppress protests. It was used, among other things, against protesters opposing the aggression against Ukraine.
In July 2023, the European Union imposed sanctions on NtechLab for cooperating with the Kremlin.
According to journalists’ information, the facial recognition system was used to identify participants at Alexei Navalny’s funeral. The Russian human rights organization OVD-Info indicates that it has already found 19 cases of people who were arrested after the funeral thanks to facial recognition technology.
Social media in the crosshairs
Kremlin aims to create a “system based on artificial intelligence to control social media, which will detect prohibited content in photos with the ability to analyze at least 200,000 photos a day.”
It is noted in the material that the founders of NtechLab now distance themselves from the Kremlin. They boast that they have signed an anti-war petition. “It has become clear that the country is heading towards a disaster, although no one could imagine that the country would start a war,” said Artem Kukharenko, founder of the company.
Source: TVP Info, frontstory.pl
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