The Public Ministry of São Paulo (MPSP) spoke out in favor of suspending the Smart Sampa Program, prepared by the City of São Paulo, which foresees the installation of around 20 thousand facial recognition cameras in strategic points in the capital of São Paulo to monitor occurrences in real time.
The MPSP’s position was sent to the São Paulo Court, which is analyzing a popular action filed by councilors from the capital who are part of the PSOL’s feminist bench.
The councilors state that experts concluded that this program is discriminatory in nature and may present biased results. According to the members of the bench, research showed that, in other Brazilian locations where the technology was implemented, 90.5% of people arrested using facial recognition technology were of black descent.
Prosecutor Claudia Cecilia Fedeli recommended, in a demonstration held last week, that the Court accept the councilors’ request and suspend the municipal program, arguing that “in the case at hand, we are facing a situation that, in theory, can result in discriminatory attitudes that would result in the unjust imprisonment of black people.”
A CNN contacted the São Paulo City Hall and is awaiting a position on the recommendation from the Public Ministry.
Smart Sampa Program
In August, São Paulo City Hall signed the contract to begin what it defined as the city’s largest video surveillance program. At the time, 20,000 smart security cameras were purchased, with facial biometrics technology. The City Hall stated that the system will have up to 40,000 cameras integrated into various public services so that incidents can be monitored in real time.
The system stores facial recognition information and people’s locations, which allows you to know if someone has been somewhere in the city and at what time.
The images captured will be used mainly to recognize people wanted by the courts, such as those released from the penitentiary system, as well as missing people, according to the city hall.
The program is in its initial phase and has already had cameras installed in the central region of the city.
See also: RJ will have to install cameras in police uniforms
Source: CNN Brasil
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