EU Planning Shared Network of Face Biometrics Databases

A leaked report obtained by The Intercept reveals that the European Union is looking to create a massive network of national police facial recognition databases.

The report, which was obtained from a European official concerned by the network’s creation, was reportedly circulated among EU officials in November of 2019 and was drawn up by the national police forces of 10 EU member states, led by Austria.

It was produced as a part of ongoing discussion on the expansion of the Prum system, an EU-wide network of connected DNA, fingerprint, and vehicle registration databases used for shared searches between EU member states.

There are existing bilateral agreements — such as the Visa Waiver Program in the U.S. — that allow the U.S. and EU countries to access one another’s fingerprint and DNA databases. It is believed that if these existing arrangements can be used as a guide that the new facial recognition network in question would be connected in a similar fashion.

Information provided last November by the European Commission to the European Parliament shows almost $750,000 has gone to a study by consultancy firm Deloitte on potential changes to the Prum system, including a look at facial recognition technology.

There are concerns over the new network being used for politically motivated surveillance.

“This is concerning on a national level and on a European level, especially as some EU countries veer towards more authoritarian governments,” said Edin Omanovic, advocacy director for Privacy International.

“Without the transparency and legal safeguards for facial recognition technology to be lawful, there should be a moratorium on it,” added Omanovic.

The advantages of the new network to police are clear, with the report saying it would be a “highly suitable” tool for identifying suspects and suggesting that it should be created “as quickly as possible.”

In the U.S., critics of the reported network and the part the Americans will play are also expressing concern over its potential to be abused or misused.

“It raises many questions,” said Neema Singh Guliani, senior legislative counsel at the American Civil Liberties Union. “How police are using facial recognition and gathering images, as well as in the U.S. with regard to due process and First Amendment expression. Given existing information sharing relationships, it’s very likely that the U.S. would want access to that information,” she added.

According to a report from the Government Accountability Office in 2015, the Department of Homeland Security began demanding data sharing agreements from countries as a part of the Visa Waiver Program.

In October of 2017, Austria began checking fingerprints against the FBI’s database, which has led to 150 matches from a total of about 12,000 prints.

Source: The Intercept

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February 24, 2020 – by Tony Bitzionis