6/9/22, 10:03 AM Myanmar: Facial Recognition System Threatens Rights | Human Rights Watch For example, in China, various technologies including facial recognition and number plate recognition have been used for mass surveillance purposes. Their use is particularly abusive in China’s Xinjiang region, where these systems continually assess the relationships and everyday behavior of Uyghurs, a Turkic Muslim minority. These systems help identify people whom authorities consider “problematic” based on vague criteria following which they are detained, imprisoned, and subjected to political indoctrination. In Myanmar, the rollout of facial recognition and vehicle license plate recognition technology was approved without public consultation or transparency, making it unclear how the authorities plan to mitigate the technology’s potential impact on human rights, including the right to privacy. On February 13, the military junta suspended sections 5, 7, and 8 of the Law Protecting the Privacy and Security of Citizens (2017), removing basic protections, including the right to be free from arbitrary detention and the right to be free of warrantless surveillance, search, and seizure. Section 5 required the presence of two witnesses whenever the police enter a residence for the purposes of search or seizure “to ensure that there is no damage to the privacy or security of the citizen.” The suspension of that protection significantly raises the risk of abuses during searches and arrests. Section 7 required a court order for any detention of more than 24 hours. Suspension of the provision will facilitate violations of international law, which provides that any person detained on a criminal charge be brought promptly before a judge. Section 8 provided protections of an individual’s right to privacy by prohibiting search and seizure, surveillance, spying, or any investigation affecting the privacy, security, and dignity of the individual without a court order, protections that the junta has removed. Neither the privacy law nor other Myanmar law contains any protection for the collection, use and storage of personal data. There is also no specific protection of sensitive personal data, including biometrics, or their processing. Under international law, government collection or use of personal and sensitive data, including vehicle license plate numbers and biometrics, must comply with international human rights standards, specifically the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) in article 17, that “no one shall be subjected to arbitrary or unlawful interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence” and that “everyone has the right to protection of the law against such interference or attacks.” Even though Myanmar has not ratified the ICCPR, these protections are also provided in article 12 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which are considered reflective of customary international law. Myanmar authorities should ensure that each instance of collection, retention, and use of personal data is comprehensively regulated, narrow in scope, and necessary as well as proportionate to meeting a legitimate security goal. The government should also refrain from deploying facial recognition https://www.hrw.org/news/2021/03/12/myanmar-facial-recognition-system-threatens-rights 3/7