12 March 2020
"Ready for your closeup? Your face could soon be included in police databases searchable by law enforcement across the European Union.
Support our work: become a Friend of Statewatch from as little as £1/€1 per month.
The Council of the EU has been advised to include photos of the Continent’s residents in a network of databases that could be searched by police using facial recognition software, according to an internal report circulated by the Austrian government and obtained by POLITICO.
These photos could include pictures culled from driver’s licenses and passports, if another recommendation obtained by POLITICO and circulated by the Finnish presidency of the Council last year were to be adopted."
Brussels considers pan-EU police searches of ID photos (Politico, link)
Council of the EU documents on: Facial recognition (13356/19, pdf), vehicle registration data (11264/19, pdf), fingerprints (13556/19, pdf) and DNA (13511/19, pdf) and: Presentation on the TELEFI project (pdf)
Spotted an error? If you've spotted a problem with this page, just click once to let us know.
Statewatch does not have a corporate view, nor does it seek to create one, the views expressed are those of the author. Statewatch is not responsible for the content of external websites and inclusion of a link does not constitute an endorsement. Registered UK charity number: 1154784. Registered UK company number: 08480724. Registered company name: The Libertarian Research & Education Trust. Registered office: MayDay Rooms, 88 Fleet Street, London EC4Y 1DH. © Statewatch ISSN 1756-851X. Personal usage as private individuals "fair dealing" is allowed. We also welcome links to material on our site. Usage by those working for organisations is allowed only if the organisation holds an appropriate licence from the relevant reprographic rights organisation (eg: Copyright Licensing Agency in the UK) with such usage being subject to the terms and conditions of that licence and to local copyright law.