#biometricrecognition (13 results)

If you want to learn more about our policy & advocacy work on biometric recognition, get in touch with:

Angela Müller

Head of Policy & Advocacy | Executive Director AlgorithmWatch CH

France: the new law on the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games threatens human rights

France proposed a new law on the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games (projet de loi relatif aux jeux Olympiques et Paralympiques de 2024) which would legitimize the use of invasive algorithm-driven video surveillance under the pretext of “securing big events”. This new French law would create a legal basis for scanning public spaces to detect specific suspicious events.

Open letter: the German government should stand up for a strong ban on biometric surveillance in the Council of EU negotiations regarding the AI Act

AlgorithmWatch and 26 other civil society organizations are calling on the German government to stand up in the negotiations on the AI Act and advocate for a strong ban on biometric surveillance as mirrored in its coalition treaty.

Members of the European Parliament could protect us from biometric surveillance – if they wanted to

Together with Reclaim Your Face and 51 other civil society organizations, AlgorithmWatch calls for a meaningful ban of remote biometric identification systems in public spaces. In an Open Letter to Members of the European Parliament, we urge them to amend the draft AI Act accordingly.

Don’t smile for the camera – stop automated facial recognition!

Join the cause and spread the word about the dangers of biometric surveillance by ordering one of our “Don’t smile for the camera” tote bags for free.

Open letter calling for a global ban on biometric recognition technologies that enable mass and discriminatory surveillance

AlgorithmWatch and AlgorithmWatch Switzerland are joining 177 civil society organizations, activists, technologists, and other experts around the world to call for an outright ban on uses of facial recognition and remote biometric recognition technologies that enable mass surveillance and discriminatory targeted surveillance.

Reclaim Your Face – A European Citizens Initiative to ban biometric mass surveillance

A large coalition of civil society organizations, among them AlgorithmWatch and AlgorithmWatch Switzerland, have come together in a European movement that demands a ban on biometric recognition systems that enable mass surveillance. Join us and sign the European Citizens Initiative, calling on the EU to ban biometric mass surveillance - such as automated face recognition in public spaces!

Flush with EU funds, Greek police to introduce live face recognition before the summer

Greek police are due to receive gear that allows for real-time face recognition during police patrols. Despite concerns that the system could seriously affect civil liberties, details about the project are scarce.

In Italy, an appetite for face recognition in football stadiums

Right before the pandemic, the government and top sports authorities were planning a massive deployment of face recognition and sound surveillance technologies in all Italian football stadiums. The reason? To help fight racism

Spain’s largest bus terminal deployed live face recognition four years ago, but few noticed

Madrid South Station’s face recognition system automatically matches every visitor’s face against a database of suspects, and shares information with the Spanish police.

Slovenian police acquires automated tools first, legalizes them later

The Slovenian police legalized its use of face recognition 5 years after it started to use it. Despite formal safeguards, no institution can restrain the Interior ministry.

At least 11 police forces use face recognition in the EU, AlgorithmWatch reveals

The majority of the police forces that answered questions by AlgorithmWatch said they use or plan to introduce face recognition. Use cases vary greatly across countries, but almost all have in common their lack of transparency.

Identity-management and citizen scoring in Ghana, Rwanda, Tunisia, Uganda, Zimbabwe and China

A review of identity-management practices in five African countries shows that much of the continent is well on its way towards comprehensive biometric registration. It could enable comprehensive citizen scoring or automated surveillance in the near future.