July 8, 2024
Cited article by Amnesty International
HRRC commends ASN Impact Investors for demanding corporate accountability from TKH Group regarding TKH cameras used for Israel’s discriminatory mass surveillance of Palestinians.
News Brief
ASN Impact Investors, a major investor of TKH Group, which manufactures artificial intelligence (AI) surveillance technologies, has demanded that TKH Group perform human rights-centered due diligence for the use of TKH cameras by the Israeli government. In its Automated Apartheid report released in May 2023, Amnesty International had examined how Israeli authorities manage a massive camera network to conduct surveillance of Palestinians in the West Bank, which has reinforced Israel’s practice of apartheid and violated the rights of Palestinians. In East Jerusalem, Amnesty International discovered that TKH cameras were being utilized for a facial recognition system that allows Israeli law enforcement officials to control the lives and movements of and even forcibly remove Palestinians, inciting fear and anxiety in Palestinian communities.
A year later in response to Amnesty International’s findings, ASN Impact Investors has announced its decision to cooperate with TKH Group to implement necessary human rights safeguards and to terminate its contract with TKH Group unless the manufacturer fulfills the investor’s demands within one year. In turn, Amnesty International has praised and recognized ASN Impact Investors’ action as a critical precedent for AI investors, who must actively address possible human rights effects and violations of AI applications. Additionally, Amnesty International has spoken out in favor of a worldwide ban of the sale, production, and operation of facial recognition technology (FRT) for monitoring and surveillance, especially opposing the export of FRT to Israel for deployment against Palestinians.