Attorney Chomiac de Sas had the opportunity to speak with journalists from Le Figaro while preparing a story on automated video surveillance using artificial intelligence tools.
Find our detailed summary of our discussions with France Info regarding the regulation of these new systems during the Olympic Games.
Automated Video Surveillance: AI & Public Order
The use of video surveillance systems is governed by different legal provisions depending on whether they are installed in a public or private space. For cameras enhanced with artificial intelligence tools within this same system, additional rules apply when the collected and processed images contain personal data.
Facial recognition: legality & prohibition
Facial recognition is part of a set of techniques and processes that enable the identification or authentication of an individual based on physical, physiological, behavioral, or biometric data.
The technical processing of this facial recognition initially involves collecting the image of the face, transforming it into a template, and then comparing it to other models from a database that enables recognition.
Such processes are strictly regulated by various legal texts guaranteeing the protection of privacy: the French Data Protection Act (Law No. 78-17 of January 6, 1978, as amended on June 1, 2019), Article 10 of the “police-justice” directive (Directive (EU) 2016/680), Articles 4 and 9 of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), and certain provisions of the French Internal Security Code.
As such, the mere detection of faces by so-called smart camera systems or augmented cameras does not constitute a facial recognition provision.
VSA Law & Olympic Games: Artificial Intelligence
In anticipation of the Paris Olympic Games this summer, the law of May 19, 2023, authorized, on an experimental basis, an automated video surveillance system that uses artificial intelligence software to analyze images and behaviors of the public. This authorization for automated video surveillance runs until March 31, 2025, and also applies to other types of sporting, cultural, or recreational events deemed high-risk.
This system has been the subject of criticism and reservations, notably from the CNIL (French Data Protection Authority) and the Defender of Rights, given the risks associated with restrictions on movement within competition areas and policies for excluding individuals deemed “undesirable” or exhibiting “abnormal” behavior.
This law explicitly prohibited the use of facial recognition tools within the framework of this automated video surveillance.
