“Techno-authoritarian imaginaries in Latin America: the contestation of facial recognition technologies”. Sociologia, Problemas e Práticas 107 (2025): 9-27.
Abstract: In the context of the global expansion of facial recognition technologies, civil society organisations have taken action to challenge their use, citing risks of mass surveillance, threats to privacy and civil liberties, and inequalities and discrimination. This article expands knowledge about the contestation of facial recognition technologies beyond the cases of the US and Europe, analysing the contestation of civil society organisations in Latin America. It concludes that “techno-authoritarian imaginaries” are projected, revealing tensions and structural conflicts strongly marked by the political and social context, involving science and technological development, governments, companies, citizens and activism.
Read the article in Portuguese, here: