European Union data protection regulators have requested a general prohibition to use artificial intelligence for facial recognition and other “biometric and behavioral signals” in public spaces. In its Joint Opinion, the European Data Protection Board (EDPB) and the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDP) also said that the use of AI for social score should be prohibited.
The EDPB and EDP urged the block to prohibit the “recognition of faces, the march, fingerprints, the DNA, the voice, the keystrokes and other biometric or behavioral signals, in any context” in areas of public access . They said it should be illegal that AI systems use biometrics to classify people “in groups based on ethnicity, gender, political or sexual orientation” or other types of classification under which they could be discriminated against.
In addition to that, the EDPB and the EDPD argued that there should be a prohibition to use AI to “infer the emotions of a natural person”. It would be allowed in specific situations, as in certain medical reasons.
Regulators responded to an AI regulatory framework proposed by the European Commission (EU Executive Power). The document suggests a prohibition of various Implementations of AI, including social score and “the use of real-time remote biometric identification systems” in publicly accessible spaces for the purpose of compliance “. There would be some exceptions, including the help authorities finding missing children and preventing a “specific, substantial and imminent threat”, as a terrorist attack.
EDPB members include data protection workers from each EU member country, while EDPS guarantees institutions and agencies of the EU, respect the rights of peoples to data protection and privacy when they manage personal information. The EC proposal is destined to the EDPS as “the competent authority and the market surveillance authority” to supervise EU agencies.
However, the EDPB and the EDPS requested more clarification on the role and duties of the latter under the framework. They also expressed concern that the scope of the proposal excludes “international cooperation of the law”.
“Implement remote biometric identification in publicly accessible spaces, it means the end of anonymity in those places,” said Edpp Data Protection Supervisor Andrea Jelok and European Data Data Wojciech Wiewiówowski in a statement. “A general prohibition on the use of facial recognition in publicly accessible areas is the necessary starting point if we want to preserve our freedoms and create a legal framework focused on human for AI. The proposed regulation should also prohibit any type of use of AI for Social score, since it is against the fundamental values of the EU and can lead to discrimination. “
