Human rights in the age of

Right to freedom of movement 
“
Everyone lawfully within the territory of a State shall, within that territory, have the right to liberty of 
movement and freedom to choose his residence. Everyone shall be free to leave any country, including his 
own. The above-mentioned rights shall not be subject to any restrictions except those which are provided 
by law, are necessary to protect national security, public order (ordre public), public health or morals or the 
rights and freedoms of others, and are consistent with the other rights recognized in the present Covenant. 
No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of the right to enter his own country.” - Article 12 of the ICCPR
The potential for AI to restrict freedom of movement is directly tied to its use for surveillance. In systems 
that combine data from satellite imagery, facial recognition-powered cameras, and cell phone location 
information, among other things, AI can provide a detailed picture of individuals’ movements as well as 
predict future location. It could therefore easily be used by governments to facilitate more precise restriction 
of the freedom of movement, at both the individual and group level.
Looking forward: Currently, the lack of formal mapping in many poor and underserved communities 
around the world has led to exclusion from GPS mapping apps. Given the growing trend of AI for predictive 
policing, it is possible that increased mapping of these areas and combining use of that information with 
data from law enforcement apps, such as those that rate the crime levels and safety of neighborhoods, 
could effectively shut down tourism or inhibit movement around or within an area. Even if this is done for 
legitimate public safety reasons, this may risk violating freedom of movement.
73 Jordan G. Telcher, “What Do Facial Recognition Technologies Mean for Our Privacy?” The New York Times, July 18, 2018, https://www.nytimes.
com/2018/07/18/lens/what-do-facial-recognition-technologies-mean-for-our-privacy.html?nytapp=true&smid=nytcore-ios-share.
74 Evan Selinger, “Amazon Needs to Stop Providing Facial REcognition Tech for the Government,” Medium, June 21, 2018, https://medium.com/s/story/
amazon-needs-to-stop-providing-facial-recognition-tech-for-the-government-795741a016a
75 See”The Necessary and Proportionate Principles,” and Privacy International, “Guide to International Law and Surveillance,” August 2017, https://
privacyinternational.org/sites/default/files/2017-12/Guide%20to%20International%20Law%20and%20Surveillance%20August%202017.pdf.

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