On the site of the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) a blog by Wojciech Wiewiórowski on facial recognition was published, Facial recognition: A solution in search of a problem?

In the blog Wiewiórowski warns that facial recognition, the biometric application used to identify or verify a person’s identity, has become increasingly present in many aspects of daily life. It is used for ‘tagging’ people on social media platforms and to unlock smart phones. In the general absence of specific regulation so far, private companies and public bodies in both democracies and authoritarian states have been adopting this technology for a variety of uses. Wiewiórowski’s opinion:

Facial recognition is being promoted as a solution for a problem that does not exist. It’s time for the EU, as it discusses the ethics of AI and the need for regulation, to determine whether – if ever – facial recognition technology can be permitted in a democratic society.

Wojciech Wiewiórowski is the Assistant Supervisor at the EDPS, and is acting as a replacement for European Data Protection Supervisor Giovanni Buttarelli until the end of his term of office on 5 December 2019.

Read all articles on this blog on biometrics and facial recognition.