Buenos Aires Sistema de Reconocimiento Facial de Prófugos 

The city of Buenos Aires' Fugitive Facial Recognition System or Sistema de Reconocimiento Facial de Prófugos (SNRP) is a system comprising approximately 300 cameras on public roads, subway and train stations intended to identify people wanted by the police. 

Introduced in April 2019, the SNRP was governed by a cooperation agreement between the Buenos Aires Ministry of Security and the Ministry of National Justice which allowed access to the National Consultation on Rebellions and Captures (Consulta Nacional de Rebeldías y Capturas) database of approximately 40,000 individuals wanted by the national authorities.  

In April 2022, Judge Andrés Gallardo discovered through a legal injunction that the City of Buenos Aires Government had also signed a side deal with Argentina's national ID database – the National Register of People or Registro Nacional de las Personas (RENAPER) that enabled authorities across the country to access data held by Buenos Aires city, and vice-versa. 

In total, the personal data of 9.9 million people, including the country's formers presidents Cristina Fernández de Kirchner and Alberto Fernández, and numerous journalists and business people, was accessed between April 2019 and March 2022.

Media reports also revealed that Buenos Aires leaders had proposed making available to the national executive facial recognition cameras for identifying poverty demonstrators considered a potential threat to the government.

Risks and harms 🛑

• The SNRP system and its governance was roundly criticised and was the subject of a high-profile lawsuit by multiple prominent civil rights organisations for inadequate governance, abuse of privacy, and poor transparency.

• The system was suspended by Judge Gallardo in April 2022. He also demanded a report on the data sharing by the Buenos Aires authorities and how the facial images have been used.

• In September 2022, the SNRP was declared 'unconstitutional' by Buenes Aires judge Elena Amanda Liberatori.

Transparency 🙈

An April 2022 appeal (pdf) by the Observatorio de Derecho Informático Argentino (ODIA) accused the SNRP of a lack of transparency concerning the personal data being collected and used.

In October 2020, the Buenos Aires authorities were accused by Human Rights Watch of storing the details of 'at least 166' children accused of committing crimes on Argentina's CONARC, the country's national database of inviduals with outstanding arrest warrants for serious crimes, between May 2017 and May 2020. 

HRW contended Buenos Aires' live facial recognition system is likely to amplify the risks of wrong identification of children due to the known inaccuracies of such systems when used on children.

Research, advocacy 🧮

• ConMiCaraNo. Reconocimiento facial en la Ciudad de Buenos Aires

• CELS (2023). The court of appeals of the city of buenos aires confirmed the unconstitutionality of the use of the fugitive facial recognition system (srfp) implemented by the buenos aires city government

• CELS (2022). El ministerio de seguridad de la ciudad buscó información biométrica de 7 millones de personas de manera ilegal

• La Defensoría del Pueblo de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires (2022). INCONSTITUCIONALIDAD DEL SISTEMA DE RECONOCIMIENTO FACIAL DE PRÓFUGOS

• Future of Privacy Forum (2022). Judge declares Buenos Aires' fugitive facial recognition system unconstitutional

• Civicus (2022). Buenos Aires' facial recognition system suspended

• Derechos Digitales (2022). La Justicia ordena suspender el sistema de reconocimiento facial de prófugos en la Ciudad de Buenos Aires

• ADC (2022). Letter to Buenos Aires mayor (pdf)

• Human Rights Watch (2020). Letter to Buenos Aires Mayor Horacio Rodríguez Larreta re: facial recognition system and children’s rights