EU AI regulation: EDPS expresses reservation on facial recognition

Last week, the European Commission unveiled its regulationon the use of artificial intelligence within European companies and institutions. The European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) announced its support for the development of a legal framework for AI. However, the body in charge of personal data protection disagreed with some aspects of the new legislation, although it will be in charge of enforcing it on several data protection issues.

EDPS welcomes regulation

The EDPS welcomed the European initiative to develop clear rules for the use of artificial intelligence in the EU. Wojciech Wiewiórowski, the European Data Protection Supervisor, said:

"I am proud of this initiative and welcome in particular the horizontal approach of this Regulation, as well as the broad scope of its application, which significantly includes EU institutions, bodies, offices and agencies. The EDPS is ready to fulfil his new role as AI regulator for the EU public administration. [...] I also acknowledge the merits of the risk-based approach underlying the proposal. Indeed, there are many applications of artificial intelligence that present a limited threat to fundamental rights to data protection and privacy while giving humanity a potentially powerful tool to combat today's problems."

Alongside this statement, the EDPS "will continue to advocate for a stricter approach to automatic recognition of human features in the public space - such as face, but also gait, fingerprints, DNA, voice and other biometric or behavioural signals - whether used in a commercial or administrative context or for a law enforcement purpose."

A reservation on facial recognition

The EU's data protection body regrets that the text does not go far enough on banning facial recognition in public places. Last July, the EDPS had called for a temporary ban on facial recognition in public places, while concrete rules on the subject were being put in place. In its text, the European Commission considers the use of remote biometric identification systems as a "high risk" system. This is the reason why they are banned except in certain exceptional cases, such as their use by law enforcement agencies for the detection or identification of a suspect for an offence punishable by a sentence or a custodial measure of at least three years. The EDPS mentions "undertaking a careful and comprehensive analysis of the European Commission's proposal to help the EU co-legislators to enhance the protection of individuals and society at large. The EDPS will in particular focus on setting clear limits for tools and systems that may pose risks to fundamental rights to data protection and privacy. At the end of January, the Council of Europe called for strict regulation of facial recognition. In the meantime, the new European legislation on AI has been announced. Although the text is now available for all to see, it still needs to be approved by the European Parliament and the European Council. Translated from Réglementation européenne sur l’IA : Le CEPD exprime sa réserve sur la reconnaissance faciale