Brazil: Sao Paulo's AI surveillance system accused of racial profiling episode artwork

EPISODE · Jul 10, 2026

Brazil: Sao Paulo's AI surveillance system accused of racial profiling

from Focus · host FRANCE 24 English

Under the guise of fighting crime, Sao Paulo has rolled out the world's largest facial recognition system operated by a city. India, China, Hong Kong and the United Kingdom have introduced similar technologies under vague legal frameworks. But no city has embraced surveillance on the same scale as Sao Paulo, making it the world's biggest "Big Brother". The artificial intelligence system, known as Smart Sampa, is now at the centre of a growing scandal after being accused of racial profiling. Report by Marine Resse, Fanny Lothaire, Mélanie Blondeau.

Episode metadata supplied by the publisher feed · Published Jul 10, 2026

Embed this episode

Ready to play

Brazil: Sao Paulo's AI surveillance system accused of racial profiling

0:00 0:00

No transcript for this episode yet

We transcribe on demand. Request one and we'll notify you when it's ready — usually under 10 minutes.

No similar episodes found.

Frequently Asked Questions

When was this Focus episode published?

This episode was published on July 10, 2026.

Can I download this Focus episode?

Yes. Use the download control on the episode player to save the publisher-provided media file.
URL copied to clipboard!