German authorities will trial facial recognition technologies at Berlin’s Suedkreuz station.
As The Local’s German outlet reports, in a recent interview with the newspaper Tagesspiegel, Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere indicated that the system will scan specifically for known criminals and terrorists, and should thereby adhere to privacy laws, since law abiding citizens will not be recognized by the software. The Local also reports that the system will initially “be tested with volunteers” at the train station before being expanded to additional locations.
De Maiziere is the same minister who called for the use of facial recognition in German airports and train stations last summer, in the wake of two serious terrorist incidents in the country. Since then, Germany has faced additional terror attacks, including the infamous Christmas market attack in which an individual killed 12 people and injured more by ramming a truck into a crowd.
Escalating concerns about terrorism have proven to be a driving factor behind the biometrics market in recent years, complemented in Europe with the technology’s applications in managing an ongoing refugee crisis.
Source: The Local Europe
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