France plans mass surveillance for Paris 2024 Olympics
Techzine EuropeJan 18, 2023
Rights groups are claiming the French government is trying to extend police surveillance powers ahead of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, calling for more public debate on a special bill — approved by the Senate on Tuesday — that would allow AI-assisted video surveillance. The lower house of parliament is set to consider it next month.
The initial text was already amended after the National Commission for Information Technology and Freedoms (CNIL) and the Council of State raised concerns over the possibility of mass processing of personal data.
The Olympic Games are being used as an excuse for the French government to approve the mass surveillance measures it has long sought to impose. The legislation, which is allegedly intended to be temporary, even hints at making this long-term by mentioning gatherings other than sports events and setting the conclusion of the so-called experiment ten months after the Olympics end.
This bill — overwhelmingly passed in the Senate — will help France detect potentially dangerous disturbances and ensure mitigated crowd control risks to those attending public events. Despite existing concerns about data privacy, neither biometric data nor facial recognition will be used and there will be no link with any other personal data system.
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