*** Democracies Online Newswire - http://www.e-democracy.org/do *** Just as the U.S. government regulates technology sales overseas on weapons, does it have a moral obligation to review this U.S.-based technology sale to Uganda? Check out the companies press release at: http://www.viisage.com/february_27_2001.htm Read the U.S. State Departments human rights report on Uganda: http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2000/af/index.cfm?docid=847 (Wow I got there in three clicks from their home page - now that is service!) What kind of laws exist in Uganda (if you can trust the rule of law) that would prevent abuse of such systems for purposes unrelated to voting. I don't object that my state government having my digital photo for the drivers license, but my government does not have a record of political intimidation. Steven Clift DO-WIRE From: http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,42070,00.html Ploy Intimidates Uganda Voters? by Julia Scheeres 4:00 p.m. Feb. 27, 2001 PST The East African nation of Uganda will use face-recognition technology to reduce fraud in its upcoming presidential election, but one expert cautioned that the software could serve a more nefarious end. Massachusetts-based Viisage Technology, Inc. announced Tuesday that it won a contract with the Ugandan government to scan the faces of its 10 million registered voters. The technology works by comparing a photograph taken of voters at voter registration offices with a second taken at the polling booths, Viisage CEO Tom Colatosti said. "This weeds out the people who are trying to vote twice," Colatosti said. "The face is converted into 128 vectors to measure the facial characteristics, including the slope of the nose, fullness of lips, and distance between the eyes." It's the same technology used to scan the faces of fans at Super Bowl XXXV, where the software surreptitiously recorded the faces of everyone entering the stadium and compared them with criminal mugs in a police control room. The presidential campaign is a big deal for Uganda, which achieved independence from the United Kingdom in 1962, then suffered at the hands of dictators like Idi Amin before instituting an electoral system in the mid-1980s. The current president, Yoweri Museveni, was sworn in January 1986 and has held on tightly to the office ever since, said George Ayittey, a professor of economics at the American University. To hold his power, Museveni essentially outlawed political parties. Under Museveni's rule, political parties may form, but no more than six members may meet at a time and they can't sponsor candidates, he said. They are forced to campaign on individual merit, rather than a political philosophy. - end clip - *** Please send submissions to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** *** To subscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** *** Message body: SUB DO-WIRE *** *** To unsubscribe instead, write: UNSUB DO-WIRE *** *** Please forward this post to others and encourage *** *** them to subscribe to the free DO-WIRE service. ***
