Italy banned the use of facial recognition and ‘smart glasses’ on Monday as its Data Protection Authority issued a rebuke to two autonomous cities that were testing the technology. The privacy watchdog said facial recognition systems using biometric data will not be allowed until a specific law is passed or at least until the end of next year. The exception is when these technologies play some role in judicial investigations or the fight against crime.
“The ban is motivated by the need to regulate the requirements, conditions and guarantees of eligibility related to facial recognition, in accordance with the principle of proportionality,” the agency said in a statement.
According to the laws of the European Union and Italy, the processing of personal data by public authorities using video equipment is generally permitted on the basis of the public interest and when linked to the activities of the public authorities. public authorities, it added.
However, municipalities that want to use them must reach an “urban security pact” with representatives of the central government, it added.
The agency responded to measures taken in the southern Italian city of Lecce, where authorities said they would start using a technology based on facial recognition.
The watchdog said the city government had been ordered to provide a description of the systems in place, their purpose and legal basis, as well as a list of databases accessed by the devices. under his supervision.
The privacy watchdog also targeted the Tuscan city of Arezzo, where local police are equipped with super-infrared glasses that can recognize car license plates.
Private companies are also working on technology using facial recognition technology. Earlier this year, Mastercard announced a “smiling to checkout” system that is supposed to save customers time at checkout. The company has already started testing the feature in Brazil and claims that future pilots are planned for the Middle East and Asia. At the time, this announcement raised concerns regarding the protection of customers’ privacy, the storage of their data, and the risk of crime and bias from identity systems. automatic face.
© Thomson Reuters 2022
