Roskomnadzor recognized the legal collection of biometric data from a Muscovite who was detained due to an error in the facial recognition system

Roskomnadzor considered it legal to collect biometric data from a Moscow metro passenger, whom the facial recognition system mistakenly identified as a wanted person, writes Roskomsvoboda.

“Given that the police received information that a person was on the wanted list, mistakenly identified as S.M. Mezhuev, there were grounds for collecting and processing personal data, including biometric data for the purpose of identification. Thus, there are no grounds for the Department to take response measures,” says the department’s response to the lawyers’ appeal.

In its response, Roskomnadzor referred to the law “On the Police” and “On State Fingerprint Registration in the Russian Federation.” According to lawyers, these documents do not justify the collection of data in Mezhuev’s case.

Last October, Muscovite Sergei Mezhuev contacted Roskomsvoboda. He said that the facial recognition system in the Moscow metro considered him a wanted person.

As human rights activists write, despite the fact that the police immediately learned about the mistake, Mezhuev was detained, collected all his data, including biometrics, and “they said that the story with him would not end until the wanted man was found.”