Facial recognition technology splits German society into two camps.
In Germany, active disputes about the use of facial recognition technologies in public places have resumed. Recently, the authorities of some federal states, including Saxony and Berlin, have started using an advanced recognition system that allows you to process facial images in almost real time.
Such a system is equipped with high-resolution cameras that can be installed by the police, for example, on parked cars. This allows law enforcement officers to find out whether a suspect was present in a certain place, as well as to scan the license plates of passing cars.
The use of this technology has previously been approved in Berlin for the investigation of at least two cases involving crimes of international gangs.
Despite the fact that the facial recognition system generally records all people who are in the surveillance zone, which can be perceived by citizens as surveillance by the government, the Berlin prosecutor's office does not see any problem in this.
However, many legal experts express their concerns about this phenomenon. So, Tobias Singelstein, Professor of Criminal Law at the University of St. Petersburg. Johann Wolfgang Goethe in Frankfurt, points out a significant violation of the rights of citizens who are not involved in police investigations.
Criticism also comes from lawmakers, such as Niklas Schrader of the Left Party (Die Linke), who calls the use of technology a serious violation of human rights.
In the context of these developments, the European Union Regulation on Artificial Intelligence is increasingly being raised. Although it prohibits the use of real-time facial recognition technology in public places, exceptions are made for cases where law enforcement agencies are investigating serious crimes or searching for missing people.
Privacy organizations, such as AlgorithmWatch, complain that restrictions on the use of facial recognition technologies in retrospect and in real time, provided for in the AI Regulation, still remain minimal.
In Germany, active disputes about the use of facial recognition technologies in public places have resumed. Recently, the authorities of some federal states, including Saxony and Berlin, have started using an advanced recognition system that allows you to process facial images in almost real time.
Such a system is equipped with high-resolution cameras that can be installed by the police, for example, on parked cars. This allows law enforcement officers to find out whether a suspect was present in a certain place, as well as to scan the license plates of passing cars.
The use of this technology has previously been approved in Berlin for the investigation of at least two cases involving crimes of international gangs.
Despite the fact that the facial recognition system generally records all people who are in the surveillance zone, which can be perceived by citizens as surveillance by the government, the Berlin prosecutor's office does not see any problem in this.
However, many legal experts express their concerns about this phenomenon. So, Tobias Singelstein, Professor of Criminal Law at the University of St. Petersburg. Johann Wolfgang Goethe in Frankfurt, points out a significant violation of the rights of citizens who are not involved in police investigations.
Criticism also comes from lawmakers, such as Niklas Schrader of the Left Party (Die Linke), who calls the use of technology a serious violation of human rights.
In the context of these developments, the European Union Regulation on Artificial Intelligence is increasingly being raised. Although it prohibits the use of real-time facial recognition technology in public places, exceptions are made for cases where law enforcement agencies are investigating serious crimes or searching for missing people.
Privacy organizations, such as AlgorithmWatch, complain that restrictions on the use of facial recognition technologies in retrospect and in real time, provided for in the AI Regulation, still remain minimal.
