Face recognition should be banned in Europe because of ‘deep and undemocratic intrusion’ of the technology into people’s private lives. This is stated in a press release by the European Data Protection Supervisor [European Data Protection Supervisor, EDPS].
The EDPS said, with regret, that the European Commission did not heed the previous call to ban facial recognition in public spaces.
“A stricter approach is needed, given that remote biometric identification, in which AI could contribute to unprecedented developments, poses an extremely high risk of deep and undemocratic intrusion into people’s private lives,” the statement said.
The EDPS added that it will continue to press for a tighter approach to automated facial recognition, gait, fingerprints and other biometric or behavioural signals, irrespective of their intended use.
Earlier, the European Commission unveiled a framework bill on the use of AI within the European Union. The document would prohibit the deployment of much of the technology used for mass surveillance of citizens, but would not touch facial-recognition systems.
In early April 2021, a group of 56 European rights organisations urged ban facial-recognition technologies.
In January, Amnesty International urged to stop using facial recognition in public places. The organisation says that biometric identification of people through street surveillance cameras is a gross intrusion into citizens’ private lives.
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