EU Parliament Seeks Ban on Mass AI Surveillance; Reaction Mixed

A European Parliament vote opposing mass AI surveillance by police got cheers from civil society, jeers from the tech sector. Wednesday's nonbinding resolution backed a ban on private facial recognition databases, behavioral predictive policing and citizen scoring, and said automated recognition shouldn't be used in public places. Lawmakers worried AI surveillance could discriminate against various groups, especially in the context of law enforcement and courts, and said citizens should be monitored only when suspected of a crime. They said humans should supervise AI systems, algorithms should be open, and people subject to AI surveillance must have remedies. The report took "what many have seen as the most progressive steps of the Parliament so far in the AI debates -- and perhaps some of the most progressive in global AI policy," blogged European Digital Rights Wednesday. The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, however, warned the ban on facial recognition would "undermine efforts to effectively respond to crime and terrorism in Europe." It urged the EU to focus on developing safeguards for appropriate use of the technology and effective enforcement of privacy laws.