BILLS ON FACIAL RECOGNITION TECHNOLOGIES IN BRAZIL

Abstract

 Facial recognition technologies have been used in various sectors of life: security, education, banking, and personal authentication, among others. This widespread adoption highlights the need for a discussion of the ethical issues arising from their use. The objective of this study is to analyze federal bills on facial recognition focused on public safety in Brazil using exploratory, inductive-deductive, and qualitative-quantitative methodological approaches. Non-systematic literature review and documentary analysis methods were employed, enabling the analysis of 20 federal bills. It is concluded that facial recognition has been gaining increasing prominence in the country, as evidenced by the growth in legislation and debate on the topic in the Chamber of Deputies, as well as the rise in ongoing projects involving the use of this technology. Among deputies, the ethical issue has been treated as one with a simple solution, based on the majority of legislators’ confidence that facial recognition technologies are beneficial—even though this has not yet been effectively proven.