Face Recognition Lets Palestinians Cross Israeli Checkposts Fast, But Raises Concerns
It takes a few seconds: Palestinians place electronic ID cards on a sensor, stare at the aperture of a small black camera, then walk past panels fanning open to let them through.
Israel is upgrading its West Bank checkpoints with facial recognition technology to verify Palestinians' identities as they cross into Israel. The new system, which began rolling out late last year, eases their passage with shorter wait times — but is drawing criticism about the role the controversial technology plays in Israel's military control over Palestinians.
"Israel knows all the information about you," said Palestinian university student Rina Khoury, as she walked through a checkpoint near Jerusalem this month.
Some U.S. cities have banned the use of facial recognition technology over concerns that law enforcement could track the public — and human biases that creep into the technology its Muslim Uighur minority.
