Italy bans facial-recognition technology

Italy’s data protection authority has banned the use of facial recognition systems and smart glasses. Warnings have already been issued to two municipalities, Reuters reports.

The moratorium will remain in effect until Parliament passes the relevant law or, at the latest, until the end of 2023.

Exceptions apply where the technology is used in judicial investigations or in crime-fighting efforts.

“The moratorium stems from the need to regulate the qualifications, conditions and guarantees related to facial recognition in accordance with the principle of proportionality,” the agency said.

Under EU and Italian law, processing of personal data by the state using video-surveillance devices is generally permitted on grounds of public interest and in connection with the activities of public authorities.

However, municipalities wishing to use these technologies must sign ‘city safety agreements’ with representatives of the central government, the ministry said.

The agency also responded to the authorities’ plan for Lecce to use facial recognition. The municipality was required to provide descriptions of the adopted systems, their purposes and legal basis, as well as a list of databases accessed by the monitoring devices.

The agency also drew attention to the Tuscan city of Arezzo, where the local police planned to use infrared sensors for automatic license-plate recognition.

Previously the agency fined Clearview AI €20 million for breaches of EU data-collection laws relating to biometric identification systems.

Earlier in April, the European Commission announced plans to create a giant database for facial recognition, to be shared with law enforcement across EU member states.

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