EU Considering 5-Year Ban Of Facial Recognition Tech In Public Spaces

The European Union is considering a ban on facial recognition for a period of 5 years whilst it comes up with “a sound of methodology for assessing the impacts of this technology and possible risk management measures could be identified and developed.”

The EU’s executive published an 18-page whitepaper which suggests that existing rules may need to be altered in order to protect the data and rights of European citizens’.

The European Commission will be looking at 5 branches of regulation:

Voluntary labelling
Sectorial requirements for public administration and facial recognition
Mandatory risk-based requirements for high-risk applications
Safety and liability
Governance

Building on these existing provisions, the future regulatory framework could go further and include a time-limited ban on the use of facial recognition technology in public spaces

If the paper is put into effect it will make exceptions to security projects, and research and development. It is expected that officials will seek feedback on its white paper before making a final decision.

If put into effect the ban might affect plans of many EU countries including Germany which was looking to roll out “automatic facial recognition at 134 railway stations and 14 airports.”