A study, published on Monday 25 October, commissioned by the Green group in the European Parliament, which advocates a total ban on biometric recognition systems in public spaces, recently warned of the impact of this technology on fundamental rights.

Facial recognition allows a human face to be identified from a digital image or video. Police in Austria, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovenia and the Netherlands use facial recognition technologies for post facto identification in their criminal investigations. Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Portugal, Romania, Spain and Sweden are expected to follow in the near future.
Francesco Ragazzi, associate professor at Leiden University and author of the study, said:

“The distinction between ‘real time’ and ‘ex-post’ is irrelevant when it comes to the impact of these technologies on fundamental rights. Ex-post identification actually has a higher potential for harm, as more data can be gathered from different sources to make the identification.»

The risks of mass surveillance

Facial recognition is the most developed biometric identification process, which can match human faces to a digital image. The deployment of these technologies is still limited in scope, ranging from identification of individuals to mass surveillance. The report warns:

“There seems to be little understanding of how this technology can be applied and the potential impact of such a wide range of applications on the fundamental rights of European citizens.»

The study focuses on so-called “non-cooperative” searches, when the system identifies a person without their consent. In “cooperative” searches, the use of facial recognition (to unlock smartphones, for example) is not considered to pose a risk of mass surveillance although this could change as these cooperative systems have accumulated significant amounts of personal data.
The report notes that mass surveillance could be made more likely by two phenomena: the expansion of biometric databases and the piloting of multiple systems connected to biometric identification software. Mr Ragazzi added:

“What we see with these projects is that they increasingly follow a ‘fait accompli’ strategy. They are usually presented as a pilot project, asking for some special circumstances regarding the deployment of the technology. They ask for authorization later.»

Pilot projects in a legal grey area

The city of Nice is using facial recognition technology on the streets, biometric identification tools in high schools were tested and then declared illegal. In the UK, facial recognition is used to identify pupils in school canteens. A district in Rotterdam has launched a “zero burglary” project to detect suspicious behaviour with the help of smart street lights. In Germany, the cities of Berlin, Hamburg and Mannheim have all deployed facial recognition software to test their ability to detect suspicious behaviour. The report states:

“Justification by testing is often used in Germany as an argument to deviate from existing rules.»

These pilot projects are set up in a legal grey area and without control surveillance could become normalized, raising the question of infringement of individual freedoms. Moreover, if infrastructures such as cameras and microphones are deactivated, they remain in place.

Parliamentary discussions

The European Parliament recently adopted a resolution calling for strict rules on the use of artificial intelligence systems in law enforcement, including a ban on facial recognition technologies in public spaces.

The report found support from liberal, social democratic, left-wing and environmental groups, and divided the right and far-right parties. The Christian Democrats, however, voted almost unanimously against the ban.

Brando Benifei, an Italian MEP and rapporteur for the European Parliament’s Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee (IMCO), called for the ban to be incorporated into the law on artificial intelligence.

The chairman of the Conference of Committee Chairs, Italian MEP and Christian Democrat Antonio Tajani, recommended joint leadership between IMCO and the Legal Affairs Committee (JURI). The final decision will be taken by the Conference of Presidents, which will discuss the issue on 18 November.

Translated from Parlement européen : Une étude pointe du doigt les technologies de reconnaissance faciale