Big Brother is Watching You! So What?
The use of facial recognition technology is becoming increasingly common in public spaces in Europe as CCTV is now used for a variety of purposes, from traffic observation to crime prevention. In many European cities, we are being monitored in real-time in a way we never have been before, whether we are travelling by bus or by train, hanging out at a tourist hotspot, passing through a crowded area while out at night or attending a protest. Many of us have visited London, which is one of the most heavily monitored cities in the world, with the average resident said to be caught on CCTV up to 300 times a day.
In Malta, initial proposals to deploy facial recognition CCTV in areas such as Paceville and Marsa encountered stumbling blocks. Firstly, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) legal framework recognises facial recognition as biometric data and therefore is subject to a stricter legal regime. It is seen as sensitive personal data. Moreover, there is concern that the system would not be sufficiently secure and might allow data to be leaked.
The EU Artificial Intelligence Act is currently being negotiated at EU level. It is expected that the Act will ban the use of...