The European Commission is mulling a ban of up to five years on the use of facial recognition in public spaces as it considers ways of preventing the technology from being abused, media said Friday
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 17th January, 2020) The European Commission is mulling a ban of up to five years on the use of facial recognition in public spaces as it considers ways of preventing the technology from being abused, media said Friday.
The proposal is outlined in a draft white paper on the European approach to artificial intelligence and privacy, according to the Euractiv news website, which said the paper should be published next month.
"Use of facial recognition technology by private or public actors in public spaces would be prohibited for a definite period (e.g. 3-5 years)," the commission was cited as saying in the leaked document.
The ban should give the EU's key executive body more time to identify a "sound methodology for assessing the impacts of this technology and possible risk management measures."
If adopted, the restriction will reverse artificial intelligence projects that are already being developed and implemented by some EU countries.
Germany has reportedly plans to roll out automatic facial recognition at 134 railway stations and 14 airports, while France wants to make government websites accessible through facial recognition software.
