More than 175 civil rights groups, activists and researchers from across the world are calling for a global ban on facial recognition and remote biometric systems. An open letter, published today highlights human rights abuses enabled by the use of surveillance technology in countries such as China, Russia, Myanmar, Argentina, Brazil and the United States. 

The document, signed by groups and individuals including Amnesty International and the Internet Freedom Foundation, demands a halt in all public investment in uses of technologies enabling mass surveillance and advocates for their prohibition in all public spaces.

The coalition was convened by the digital rights group Access Now, and the letter was drafted by European Digital Rights, Human Rights Watch, Instituto Brasileiro de Defesa do Consumidor and a number of other organizations. Signatories from Asia, Africa, Europe and Latin America include Big Brother Watch and Privacy International.

Biometric technologies have the capacity to identify and profile both individuals and populations around the world. Coda Story has previously reported on the use of facial recognition in Hyderabad, India and Moscow, and fingerprint and iris scans in Kenya.