E-Faas: MVR 900K paid to Israeli company for facial recognition tech
“This is the amount that is currently expected to run annually,” said Mohammed Shareef, State Minister for Technology.
By
Aminath Shifleen
The government has so far paid MVR 930,000 to the Israeli company that runs the facial recognition feature of 'E-Faas', technology ministry said Saturday.
The mobile application of Maldives' digital identity platform, E-Faas, features facial recognition by SumSub, an Israeli company registered in the UK.
The ongoing war between Israel and Hamas is heating up, killing hundreds of Palestinians, and many are calling for a halt to the use of Israeli products in the country.
In addition, many people are expressing concern about the use of an Israeli product.
The National Centre for Information Technology (NCIT), which provides E-Faas services, previously said:
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Even if the facial recognition feature is provided by a foreign company, it will not store or see any Maldivian's personal information
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Sumsub was entrusted with the service because it operates under UK law
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It is governed by UK data protection law, and it is a law accepted by all developed countries in the world and that is why we entrusted it to the company
Adressing allegations that the government has to pay tens of thousands of dollars every year for the service provided by the Israeli company, the NCIT said on Saturday that the government has so far paid only GBP 50,000 for the service.
"This is the amount that is currently expected to run annually," said Mohamed Shareef, State Minister for Technology.
He said he expects to pay this amount in the next few years for the service, which requires subscriptions.
Shareef had said that the photo shared on E-Faas is also very sensitive, so before handing over the service to a foreign company, he made sure it was protected by the laws of the country.
