At UN climate talks, cameras are everywhere. Many belong to Emirati company with a murky history

Dubai: At the United Nations’ COP28 climate summit in Dubai, surveillance cameras seem to be everywhere you turn. And that has some worried. It’s unclear how the United Arab Emirates, an autocratic federation of seven sheikhdoms, uses the footage it gathers across its extensive network. However, the country already has deployed facial recognition at immigration gates at Dubai International Airport, the world’s busiest for international travel.

Surveillance cameras increasingly are a part of modern life. However, experts believe the UAE has one of the highest per capita concentrations of such cameras on Earth – allowing authorities to potentially track a visitor throughout their trip to a country without the civil liberty protections of Western nations.