Police set facial recognition on collision course with AI Act in Germany

A German police official is seeking a public debate on whether law enforcement in the country should be able to search the internet with facial recognition to identify dangerous criminals.

Friedo de Vries, President of Lower Saxony’s state criminal office (LKA), wants to the police to have the capability to search for offenders who could be sentenced to more than a year in prison by their face biometrics, according to heise. But he acknowledges that there is no legal basis for such a capability at this time.

The topic caught the attention of many in the country when accused RAF terrorist Daniela Klette was found by journalists using online facial recognition tool PimEyes. The suspect was later arrested by police in Berlin, with the help of local sources. A Police Union representative complained that the investigation was hampered by its lack of access to the publicly available tool.

The report refers to both PimEyes and Clearview AI, but suggests that the force could develop its own facial recognition system. A politician from the Green Party raised the question of how training data for such a system could be obtained.

The State ministers of the Interior and Justice are open to dialogue on the idea, heise reports.

PimEyes will be blocked from the EU when an articles in the AI Act banning the use of data from the public internet for biometric databases comes into effect in February. The Act also prohibits the use of facial recognition for prosecution except for 16 specific crimes, and then only with official authorization.

LFR used in Brandenburg

The Brandenburg Ministry of the Interior has confirmed the use of real-time or “live” facial recognition by State police in one property crime investigation, ASB Zeitung reports.

The facial recognition system is operated by the police force of another state; Saxony. The same system has been used in other states, according to the report. Berlin police have used facial recognition in two investigations into cross-border gang crime.

A representative of the State’s Greens demanded clarification from the Interior Ministry of what form of facial recognition was used and how the rights of those scanned can be protected. The Green MP notes that an automatic license plate recognition system in Brandenburg was previously defeated in court, saying the facial recognition system is “even more problematic.”

Article Topics

AI Act  |  biometric identification  |  Clearview AI  |  criminal ID  |  face biometrics  |  facial recognition  |  Germany  |  PimEyes  |  police