Facial recognition tech could be illegal in EU, regulators warn
Artificial intelligence (AI) facial recognition technologies are likely to be illegal in the European Union, according to a prominent group of privacy regulators.
The European Data Protection Board (EDPB) – a committee of national privacy regulators – raised concerns about “certain developments in facial recognition technologies” last week. “The use of a service such as Clearview AI by law enforcement authorities in the European Union would, as it stands, likely not be consistent with the EU data protection regime,” it said.
Software produced by US-based Clearview AI allows organisations to match pictures of people’s faces to a database containing billions of images that have been scraped from social media platforms and other websites. The EDPB commented that law enforcement authorities may process biometric data for the “purpose of uniquely identifying a natural person”, but only in accordance with the strict conditions of the EU’s 2016 Law Enforcement Directive. It added that it doubts whether “any union or member state law provides a legal basis for using a service such as the one offered by Clearview AI” and that therefore, the lawfulness of such use by EU law enforcement authorities “cannot be ascertained”.
Is Big Brother watching?
Buzzfeed reported in February that Clearview AI technology is being used in 26 European countries including France, Spain, Italy, Sweden, Switzerland, and the UK. The report stated that Clearview has “engaged” with national law enforcement agencies, government bodies, and police forces in those countries.
However, Clearview AI’s CEO Hoan Ton-That has denied this. The company’s “image-search technology is not currently available in the European Union,” he said, as reported by CNBC.
Over 600 US law enforcement agencies are using Clearview AI’s technology, according to The New York Times. Some cities, including San Francisco, have banned facial recognition technology, which can produce biased – and often racially biased – outcomes.
Following the death of George Floyd at the hands of the Minneapolis police, IBM vowed last week that it would no longer develop or sell facial recognition technology. Meanwhile, Amazon has announced it would stop selling its controversial Rekonition platform to police for a year, and Microsoft has said that it will not sell its facial recognition technology to US police departments until the country approves national regulation of the technology.
About Mia Hunt
Mia has been editor of globalgovernmentforum.com since 2019. She has 15 years’ experience as a journalist and editor and specialises in writing for civil and public servants worldwide, including covering sustainability policy and related issues. She has led the Global Government Women’s Network since it launched in 2023. Previously, she covered commercial property having been market reports and supplements editor at Property Week and deputy editor at Retail Destination. She graduated from Kingston University London with a first-class honours degree in journalism and was part of the team that produced The River newspaper, which won Publication of the Year at the Guardian Student Media Awards in 2010.
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