Privacy Is Essential to Political Activism
(The Hill, Feb 10, 2026)
Growing use of biometric identification and pervasive data collection—especially tools that can link faces and identities across public spaces and online platforms—can deter people from organizing, protesting, or engaging in political movements. The piece argues that stronger limits and safeguards are needed so participation in civic life doesn’t come with an implicit tradeoff of being tracked, identified, or profiled through surveillance systems.
Facing Pushback, MPD Halts Use of Facial Recognition Technology
(Urban Milwaukee, Feb 10, 2026)
The Milwaukee Police Department said it will impose a voluntary moratorium on all facial recognition use after community backlash and scrutiny from the Milwaukee Fire and Police Commission. Officials acknowledged the tool had still been used indirectly by sending images to outside agencies for potential matches, but said preserving public trust outweighed the perceived investigative benefits.
Facial Recognition Technology Becoming “Invaluable
(BBC News, Feb 10, 2026)
Cheshire Police said facial recognition has helped bring more offenders to justice, citing a reported 60% year-on-year increase in positive identifications in 2025. The report frames the technology as increasingly valuable for policing, while acknowledging ongoing public concern around privacy and appropriate safeguards.
Global Biometric Technology Company Identity.io Expands to Kenya and Nigeria
(Tanzania Times, Feb 10, 2026)
Identy.io is expanding its mobile-first biometric identity verification and authentication offering into Kenya and Nigeria, targeting regulated sectors such as government, financial services, and telecommunications. The company also named a regional leadership team and appointed Matus Kapusta as product director for its Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS) portfolio as it scales operations in Africa.
Super Bowl Ad for Ring’s Dog-Tracking Cameras Stirs Privacy Controversy
(USA TODAY, Feb 10, 2026)
Ring’s “Search Party” feature uses AI-driven video analysis across participating doorbell cameras to help identify and locate missing pets, prompting criticism that networked camera analytics can normalize biometric-style identification at neighborhood scale. Privacy advocates and some lawmakers warn that similar recognition pipelines could be repurposed or expanded toward identifying people (including via facial recognition), while Ring argues participation and sharing are user-controlled and the feature is not intended for human tracking.
