In the first vote in the commission on the EU regulation, several bans on the use of new technologies pass, despite popular’s opposition.
The go-ahead from the EU Parliament to the AI Act, the document that establishes the new EU rules for Artificial Intelligence for the first time, introduces an unexpected novelty: the total ban on the use of Artificial Intelligence technologies for facial recognition in public places in the European Union.
In the first official vote on the Commission’s new regulation, MEPs in Strasbourg managed to introduce a number of safeguards on privacy and fundamental rights of citizens.
The Parliament’s split over the vote
The Justice and Internal Market commissions, called on Thursday to decide on the rules for artificial intelligence, in fact approved with 58 votes in favor, 36 against and 10 abstentions, the total ban on these technologies requested by the Socialists, Greens and Liberals and subjected to a separate vote due to opposition from the Popolari.
The text of the AI Act had obtained an informal consensus among groups last week, but the authorization of the use of facial recognition on European streets had become the subject of a specific vote.
Leading the fight to ban the use of biometric recognition in public spaces is the rapporteur of the text and head of delegation of the PD in the European Parliament, Brando Benifei, who had declared on Twitter "I want to build a solid majority to guarantee this result" and who is now celebrating the result, speaking of "historic legislation".
The controversy over Piantedosi’s proposal
In recent days, the issue of facial recognition had inflamed Italian public opinion after the proposal by the interior minister Matteo Piantedosi to adopt the biometric system in public places, such as stations.
Biometric surveillance potentially undermines each of the following fundamental rights: freedom of movement, expression, participation, privacy.
And it is precisely on these risks that the split European Parliament voted for a total ban on these technologies, thus indirectly defeating Piantedosi’s security line.
Predictive policing is also prohibited
With this vote, MEPs have chosen to prevent the use of certain technologies in the field of police control, while respecting citizens’ privacy. In addition to biometric surveillance, in fact, it is intended to prohibit "predictive policing", the activity of predictive policing to prevent and respond more effectively to crimes, which evokes scenarios a la Philip Dick in Minority Report.
In fact, data surveillance implies the risk of identifying groups of subjects sharing similar profiles, which can become the basis for what Gary T. Marx defines "categorical suspicion", as well as becoming a dangerous tool of oppression.
These new forms of control, based on AI, are no longer limited to punishing or seeing what an individual does, but try to predict what they will be able to do. In this way, we move from supervising – and controlling – to directing behavior along pre-established paths.
According to the text, the ban will also apply to border defense infrastructure and surveillance technologies for illegal migration.
The text is now awaited for the June plenary vote. After the green light from the hall, trilogues with the Council and the EU Commission will begin, given the importance of the matter in Brussels they let it be known that they want to close the definitive agreement within the year.
Original article published on Money.it Italy 2023-05-12 10:00:00. Original title: L’Eurocamera vieta il riconoscimento facciale con l’intelligenza artificiale
