Drones are monitoring parts of Delhi where there are protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA).- The Delhi Police has been using Netra UAVs — developed by the Defence and Research Organisation and IdeaForge — to surveil the city for over four years.
- They can fly up to 200 meters in the air — 80 meters over the limit prescribed by Indian drone laws.
Citizens have been flooding the streets to show their disapproval for the new law — on that they fear is setting the foundation for excluding Muslims in the upcoming National Registry for Citizens (NRC) — $4, a law which $4 in a given jurisdiction.
The drones in use — $4 developed by a Mumbai-based company called IdeaForge— are able to fly $4. From that height, they are able to scan a hexagonal grid that extends to around three to four kilometres. And, it has thermal night-vision.
"Drones are used to record happenings and in case of massive law and order situations, where things go out of hand, the recordings help to identify those who cause a situation to go out of hand," a senior police officer told $4. Even $4 said that the arsonists can be “identified by their clothes.”
This is exactly the kind of ethical violation human rights violation experts have warned against in the past. Especially in a situation like the one in India right now, where mass protests are currently underway, the use of drones by the police falls may lead to the isolation of some protestors and their harassment.
Here’s why facial recognition using drones falls in the ethical gray area
As the $4 in the US pointed out in October 2019, the use of drones for facial recognition may have the following consequences:
- Race, Gender, and Age Bias: Numerous studies have found that facial recognition performs poorly when analyzing the faces of women, children, and people with darker skin tones. This places communities already subject to over-policing at greater risk of misidentification.
- Privacy: Facial recognition is recognised as extraordinarily intrusive, challenging reasonable expectations of privacy and lacking necessary oversight. This is why a number of groups have called for a moratorium on facial recognition.
- Free Speech: Law enforcement use of facial recognition may expose protesters to persistent
surveillance and identification.
- Regulation: There have been widespread calls for its regulation, and some cities in the US have even banned its use.
It’s not a new thing
What many don’t know is that the Delhi Police has been using these drones for $4. Developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation ($4) in collaboration with IdeaForge.
In addition to the Delhi Police using drones to surveil Old Delhi, they are also being used to monitor the situation at Shaheed Park near ITO. Drones were also employed two days ago to monitor crowds in $4 where there were reports of arson and violence.
Earlier this year, drones were also used to carry out surveillance in parts of New Delhi where there was a threat of agitation after the Supreme Court verdict on the Ayodhya land dispute as well to monitors sections of East Delhi and Trilokpuri during the Lok Sabha election.
The buzzing drones may further infuriate the crowds
Even though the drones are employed as a ‘$4’ measure — they only seem to be instigating the crowds in Old Delhi. When one of the drones flew over All India Student’ Association (AISA) and Swaraj Abhiyan protestors looking to reach the Red Fort — the throng got even louder shouting, clearing and clapping at the passer-by in the sky, according to PTI.
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