Authors: Priya Vedavalli, Prakhar Misra, Tvesha Sippy, Avanti Durani, Neha Sinha, Vikram Sinha
Reliance on FRTs in India is premature. This policy brief highlights this whilst acknowledging FRTs' use cases—in aiding the police's preventive and investigative functions, in potentially reducing 'third-degree methods', and improving police's functional autonomy. FRT deployment creates risk and has implications in several areas: accuracy errors, bias, and discriminatory and real-time surveillance. These technologies should therefore be implemented in a modular manner with fair, transparent, and reasonable operational safeguards. As a first step, there should be a clear definition and limitation of purpose and data use, with police training and independent oversight bodies to follow.
