PARIS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 24th March, 2023) The lower house of the French parliament, the National Assembly, on Thursday passed a controversial law allowing the government to use video surveillance with artificial intelligence (AI) technologies to monitor the public during next summer's Olympic Games in Paris, media reported.
Earlier in the day, the National Assembly approved in a 59-14 vote the usage of a so-called smart video surveillance based on AI algorithms to detect suspicious items and activities, which authorities want to test before and during the Olympics, French broadcaster BFMTV reported.
In February, the French parliament's upper house approved the law authorizing extensive video surveillance. On March 6, a total of 38 civil society organizations, including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, addressed the National Assembly protesting the law. Opponents of the law called for the rejection of the bill's seventh article and for further discussions with civil society.
The seventh article of the law that sparked debates covers analyzing video recordings made by cameras and drones with algorithms to inform proper agencies of disorderly conduct, the broadcaster reported. Its opponents are reportedly concerned about the possible misuse of this technology, fearing that the Olympics will be just the beginning for the subsequent spread of this type of population surveillance.
The 2024 Summer Olympics are scheduled to take place in Paris from July 26 to August 11, 2024.
