Single base for face recognition - EU plans

The European Commission plans to create a common database for face recognition. This information will be available to the law enforcement agencies of the EU countries.

Developers see great potential in this. This initiative is due to the fact that many countries already have a large archive of data:

    Hungary - more than 30 million photos;
    Italy - 17 million;
    France - 6 million shots;
    Germany - 5.5 million

The photo depicts a variety of personalities - from crime suspects to refugees.

However, human rights activists expressed concern about this statement. Ella Yakubovskaya, an adviser to the NGO for citizens' rights, said: "This will probably be the largest database of biometric surveillance."

The representative of the EU said that data can only be transferred between countries if they are suspected or convicted criminals under Prüm II. “Pictures of the civilian population will not be compared,” he added.

For the past 15 years, according to the policy of Prüm II, police units in Europe have been exchanging data in the course of criminal investigations. For review, fingerprints and DNA of persons are provided.

Recall that in April 2021, the European Commission submitted a bill regulating the use of AI in the European Union.

Under the new rules, law enforcement agencies are not allowed to use pictures for recognition. The exception is situations when serious crimes related to terrorism are being investigated.

However, not all organizations like this outcome. In April 2021, the European Data Protection Agency demanded that the development of new technologies be banned without exception. The reason is "a deep invasion of the privacy of citizens."

In June, 55 human rights organizations opposed the bill, subjecting it to harsh criticism.