Homologation of facial recognition technology in public spaces

The upper house of the French parliament voted on the bill that allows facial recognition using biometric technology in public spaces as part of security measures.
The bill was approved in the Senate by a vote of 226 to 117.

The bill, which has been criticized by human rights advocates for violating individual liberties, provides the opportunity to recognize people by their faces and obtain their identity information through the use of artificial intelligence technology.

With the technology that is intended to be put into practice before the 2024 Paris Olympics, it will be possible to scan the identity of suspects remotely through cameras.

However, there are concerns that the technology, if enacted, would be used in the country, especially for discrimination based on gender and ethnicity.

The French Senate is also debating the so-called “Justice Law”, which allows suspects to remotely hack into their digital devices. The article of the bill, which allows the activation of microphones and cameras to record audio and video from digital devices such as phones, computers and tablets of suspects in cases such as terrorism and organized crime, and allows them to monitor their positions, was adopted on June 8.

Bills passed in the Senate must also be approved by the National Assembly to become law. (AA)