Adoption of AI Facial Recognition Technology: Challenges to Indian Legal Regime during Pandemic

The Covid-19 pandemic and its sudden impact not only rattled the lives, but also led to the development of a variety of technologies. The conventional adoption of Contact biometric technologies has not only become obsolete but it is also extremely dangerous as it contains the risk of spreading the infection. Although, Indian Companies may be reluctant to adjust to changes, however by the pandemic, the companies are persuaded to reconsider their adoption to the new technologies such as AI facial recognition, the major biometric technology. Its competence to assess a person’s face by mapping his or her facial characteristics with the aid of images and then evaluating the same with the related databases with no physical contact has made the technology inordinately popular amid Covid-19 pandemic. One of the major concerns for the said technology is its lack of regulation and without the proper backup of law regulating the same in Indian legal regime, the privacy and security of an individual is at stake and thus, this Paper emphasises on the same. In India, there is no specific law dealing with data and privacy, thereby this lacuna poses a major question as to how the AI facial recognition technology would be regulated and also at the same time how the issues of privacy and security would be resolved. Thus, this Paper analyses and makes a comparative study of laws regulating the AI Facial Recognition System in other countries. The Paper focuses on suggesting a suitable similarity metric in parlance with other countries which could be incorporated in Indian Legal scenario in regulating the AI Facial Recognition Technology.