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.

Position

7 March 2023

#biometricrecognition #discrimination #publicsphere

Nikolett Aszódi

Policy & Advocacy Manager

aszodi@algorithmwatch.org

Estelle Pannatier

Policy & Advocacy Manager, AlgorithmWatch CH

pannatier@algorithmwatch.ch

AlgorithmWatch together with 37 civil society organizations has sent a public letter to the French National Assembly expressing our deep concern regarding the proposal. We believe that the proposed surveillance measures violate international human rights law as they contravene the principles of necessity and proportionality, and pose unacceptable risks to fundamental rights, such as the right to privacy, the freedom of assembly and association, and the right to non-discrimination.

Furthermore, this law would also set a dangerous precedent for other European countries to legalise a range of risky biometric surveillance practices. We request the French National Assembly to reject the provision that allows for algorithm-driven video surveillance.