27/09/2023
Facial recognition, and other forms of biometric surveillance, have the potential to eviscerate our rights and freedoms in public spaces. From the tracking of emotions and supposedly ‘suspicious behaviours’ in Europe, to the suppression of protesters in Hong Kong, to the violent false arrests of black men in the US, facial recognition has been turning us into walking barcodes across the world.
Today, a coalition of civil society groups representing a broad range of human and digital rights, anti-racism, migration and social justice causes are joined by eminent individuals to call on governments around the world to put a stop to these dangerous practices. As groups and individuals working on the front-lines to tackle and contest the harms caused by AI-based surveillance, we are acutely aware of just how dangerous and undemocratic these systems are.
We demand that our governments take all measures possible – from ceasing existing pilot programmes to passing and enforcing strong policies and laws – to protect us from these systems. That’s why we are part of the call of 180+ civil society actors demanding police, authorities and private companies stop facial recognition now: https://edri.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Global-statement-Stop-facial-recognition-now.pdf
[Extra EU context] In Europe, the Reclaim Your Face campaign – a civil society movement supported by 250,000 people across the continent – has demanded a ban on all biometric mass surveillance practices. Lawmakers in the European Parliament heard our call and in summer 2023, adopted a position which would ban the majority of such practices. However, EU governments are pushing back, claiming – without evidence – that we need these systems for safety and security. To the contrary, we are here to remind them that when our every moves are tracked and analysed without due cause, none of us are safer.
Additional advocacy actions
If your organisation is based in, or works on topics relating to, any EU member state, you could really help us out by making sure that this statement reaches lawmakers at this critical time on the EU’s AI Act! You could send the statement to:
- Your country’s ‘Telecommunications’ representative in the Council of the EU. You can usually find their email address on the website of the country’s ‘Permanent Representation to the EU’ but if you struggle, Ella can help (ella.jakubowska@edri.org);
- Representatives of your country’s Digital ministry or department. Some countries refer to this as the Telecoms or Telecommunications ministry or department;
- National MPs, to let them know that their governments are pushing to legalise public facial recognition and other biometric mass surveillance practices, and we want them to raise their voices to stop this!
120 CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANISATIONS
PAN-EUROPEAN & INTERNATIONAL:
Access Now, Algorithmic Justice League, Civil Liberties Union for Europe, Data Rights, Electronic Frontier Foundation, Eticas, European Center for Not-For-Profit Law Stichting, European Digital Rights (EDRi), European Network Against Racism (ENAR), European Sex Workers Rights Alliance (ESWA), Fair Trials, Human Rights Watch, ILGA-Europe, Organization for Identity & Cultural Development (OICD.net), Statewatch, WITNESS, Women’s Link Worldwide
AUSTRALIA: Digital Rights Watch
AUSTRIA: epicenter.works, Informational Structures Research Lab, quintessenz – – Verein zur Wiederherstellung der Bürgerrechte im Informationszeitalter
BELGIUM: Ligue des droits humains, petites singularités, TechnopoliceBXL
CANADA: Centre for Free Expression, International Civil Liberties Monitoring Group, Montreal Institute for Genocide and Human Rights Studies, OpenMedia, British Columbia Civil Liberties Association
COLOMBIA: DEJUSTICIA – CENTER OF LAW, JUSTICE AND SOCIETY
CROATIA: Gong, Politiscope
CZECH REPUBLIC: Iuridicum Remedium
DENMARK: IT-Political Association, PROSA – Forbundet af it-professionelle
EGYPT: Masaar – Technology and Law Community
FINLAND: Electronic Frontier Finland
FRANCE: La Quadrature du Net, LDH (Ligue des droits de l’Homme)
GERMANY: AlgorithmWatch, Chaos Computer Club, Deutsche Vereinigung für Datenschutz e.V. (DVD), Digitalcourage, Forum InformatikerInnen für Frieden und gesellschaftliche Verantwortung / Forum Computer Professionals for Peace and societal Responsibility (FIfF), FragDenStaat, Giodano-Bruno-Stiftung, Initiative for the preservation of public space, INSPIRIT Creatives NGO, SUPERRR Lab
GREECE: DATAWO, Homo Digitalis
HUNGARY: Hungarian Civil Liberties Union
INDIA: Punjab Women Collective
IRELAND: Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL)
ITALY: Coalizione Italiana per le Libertà e i Diritti civili (CILD), Hermes Center, info.nodes, StraLi for Strategic Litigation, The Good Lobby Italia
JAPAN: JCA-NET(Japan)
LATIN AMERICA: Derechos Digitales
MÉXICO: Sursiendo, Comunicación y Cultura Digital
THE NETHERLANDS: Bits of Freedom, PublicSpaces, Racism and Technology Center, Society Vrijbit J.M.T. Wijnberg, Stop Wapenhandel
ROMANIA: Asocia ia pentru Tehnologie i Internet (ApTI)ț ș
SERBIA: SHARE Foundation
SLOVENIA: Danes je nov dan, Inštitut za druga vprašanja / Today is a new day, Institute for
Other Studies, Povod Institute, Državljan D / Citizen D
SPAIN: Irídia – Center for Human Rights, Ongd AFRICANDO
SWEDEN: DFRI (Föreningen för Digitala Fri- och Rättigheter)
SWITZERLAND: AlgorithmWatch CH, Digitale Gesellschaft
TUNISIA: Intersection Association for Rights and Freedoms, Mawjoudin We Exist
TURKEY: Alternatif Bilisim (AIA-Alternative Informatics Association), Association for Monitoring Eqaul Rights (AMER) – E it Haklar çin zleme Derne iş İ İ ğ
(ESH D)İ
UNITED KINGDOM: Amnesty International UK, App Drivers & Couriers Union, ARTICLE 19, Big Brother Watch, Defend Digital Me, Director, Unlock Democracy, Fair Vote UK, Foxglove, INQUEST, Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants (JCWI), Liberty, Migrants’ Rights Network, Netpol, Open Rights Group, Privacy International, Public Law Project, Race Equality First, Race Equality Foundation, Race on the Agenda, Rainbow Migration, Red Line for Gulf, Rights & Security International, Runnymede Trust, Stop The Scan campaign by by The Racial Justice Network and Yorkshire Resists, StopWatch, Women’s Equality Network (WEN) Wales, Worker Info Exchange
UNITED STATES: Accountable Tech, Advocacy for Principled Action in Government, Defending Rights & Dissent, Fight for the Future, Human Rights Data Analysis Group, National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, NYC DSA Tech Action, Oakland Privacy, PDX Privacy, Restore The Fourth, Surveillance Resistance Lab,The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC)
