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Article

14 Dec 2022

Author:
Karim Zidan, The Nation (USA)

Qatar 2022: Drones, video surveillance, facial recognition software & undercover police reflect rise of digital authoritarianism in sports

"The Qatar World Cup ushers in a new era of digital authoritarianism in sports," 8 Dec 2022

More than 15,000 cameras are currently being deployed to monitor soccer fans across eight stadiums throughout the duration of the 2022 World Cup. Fans are also being surveilled around Doha’s streets by drones and by CCTV cameras armed with facial recognition technology. The cameras are operated remotely from a central command centre that allows security to zoom in and track targets.

The virtual network… is being touted by organizers as the future of sports surveillance.

… Qatar’s use of biometric mass surveillance to monitor soccer fans is not without precedent. Several stadiums across Europe have utilized surveillance tactics in recent years...

Biometric identification is a threat to human rights and civil liberties when it is used as a tool for mass surveillance. It often disproportionately affects minority groups such as women, people of color, and people who identify as members of the LGBTQ+ community...

… Qatar is also employing on-the-ground security forces—many of whom appear to be acting undercover—to further monitor its visitors...

… it is evidently clear that Qatar’s state-of-the art surveillance technology is less about its determination to uphold safety standards than it is about stamping out protests and intimidating potential dissidents.

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