Discredited biometric surveillance project in Malta closed, but is it?

Facial recognition networks might bring tiny Malta more security from street crime someday but right now it’s caught in a political mess that has some residents worried about the EU nation’s democratic future.

The controversy involves the “Safe City Malta” project that includes a contract with Huawei, the controversial Chinese maker of facial recognition software and hardware. The project was considered a public-private one with Huawei as a development partner, reported news site MaltaToday.

According to Maltese investigative online news publisher The Shift, the project was the brainchild of a former prime minister now accused of misdeeds. It was closed down, but news reports indicate that it’s still going.

The government, which seems perpetually in the throes of scandals, created a company around the project, called Malta Strategic Partnership Projects, that is controlled by the current prime minister.

Also involved in the project is the Chinese wife of a previous Malta cabinet minister and a former director who resigned another job as CEO after he vacationed with a man accused of murdering a local journalist in a car bombing in 2017.

The company reportedly was planning to deploy facial recognition systems in 2019, first in specific low-income neighborhood, but, according to The Shift, European Union pressure persuaded Malta to abandon biometric features.

Residents were concerned that the systems would be used to dismantle Malta’s democracy.

Eventually, the Maltese government in January said it was closing the company altogether. Its contract with Huawei ended. And yet, according to reporting by the publication, Malta Strategic’s directors and a company secretary have subsequently “been appointed for another year until June 2024.”

To date, reports The Shift, no visible work has been completed on the project.

Article Topics

biometrics  |  data privacy  |  facial recognition  |  government purchasing  |  Huawei  |  Malta  |  public-private partnerships  |  smart cities  |  video surveillance