Prepared by Messenger Staff
Georgia's Interior Ministry Allegedly Using Russian FSB-Linked Face Recognition Software, Investigation Claims
Georgia's Interior Ministry has been purchasing a facial recognition system called Polyface from Moscow-based Papillon AO since 2013, according to an AlgorithmWatch investigation. The company allegedly has ties to Russia's FSB and is sanctioned by the U.S., Switzerland, Ukraine, and Japan.
The ministry allegedly received the latest version of the software in early June 2025, as authorities were already fining protesters identified through mass surveillance. Tender documents purportedly show the ministry removed a previous cap of 30 simultaneous operators, requesting unlimited licenses in its most recent contract.
The system allegedly can identify faces in crowds and low-light conditions, even when partially covered, and cross-references images against the civil registry and social media databases. AlgorithmWatch identified three alleged modes of use: automatic real-time crowd scanning, manual operator-directed searches, and watchlist alerts that instantly flag pre-loaded individuals such as activists or previously fined demonstrators.
"This software does not just identify who someone is-it can reconstruct a person's entire protest history," Georgian cybersecurity expert Giorgi Lubaretsi told the investigation.
Georgia First Party Holds Founding Congress, Elects Viktor Kipiani as Chairman
The Georgia First party held its founding congress this week, with 359 of 360 delegates voting in favor of establishing the party and unanimously electing Viktor Kipiani as its chairman.
Kipiani, a senior partner at law firm MKD Law and chairman of the analytical organization Geocase, said the party aims to be more than an opposition force. "Georgia First is more than a party and much more than an opposition party. It is a political force necessary in the country and oriented towards real changes," he said, adding that the party rejects dividing Georgians into winners and losers or patriots and those deemed "rootless."
Journalist Vasil Ivanov-Chikovani, a former Public Broadcasting Service employee, said the party's goal is to build a state grounded in sound institutions, a depoliticized judiciary, and a united civil society, with European and NATO integration as a foreign policy priority.
The congress also approved the party's statute, symbols, and governing bodies, electing members to its political council, revision commission, and secretariat.
