On April 16, 2021, the Garante per la protezione dei dati personali, the Italian Data Protection Authority (DPA), issued an unfavourable opinion on the use of the SARI Real Time system by the Ministry of the Interior, a real-time facial recognition system aiming to assist the Police Force in the management of public order and safety.

The European Union’s proposed artificial intelligence (AI) regulation, released on April 21, is a direct challenge to Silicon Valley’s common view that law should leave emerging technology alone. The proposal sets out a nuanced regulatory structure that bans some uses of AI, heavily regulates high-risk uses and lightly regulates less risky AI systems.

After a preleminary initiative was announced in January 2021, the European Digital Rights (EDRi) organisation and 55 others sent a new letter to Didier Reynders (European Commissioner for Justice) on April 1st, 2021 to support their demand for a specific ban on biometric mass surveillance technologies.

The French government issued a decree on March 10, 2021 authorising automated analysis of the rate of compliance with the obligation to wear a mask on public transport

On Thursday 18, 2020, the President of the CNIL issued a warning to a sports club who were considering using a facial recognition system to stop people with stadium bans from attending their games.

The Swedish DPA fines the police authorities for their use of facial recognition. Employees from two services were using Clearview AI’s App.

On January 20, 2020, the Legal Affairs Committee of the European Parliament (EP) adopted a resolution which includes new guidelines for the use of artificial intelligence (AI) for civil and military use.

The UK Surveillance Camera Commissioner (SCC) released a new report in November 2020 entitled “Facing the Camera”.

On November 27, 2020, Brigadier-General Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, the head of the Iranian military’s nuclear program, was shot and killed in a convoy outside Tehran.

On December 3, 2020, the Greens/EFA Group of the European Parliament hosted an online discussion on the risks of discrimination posed by biometric mass surveillance.

On September 9, 2020, the Portland City Council voted to ban facial recognition. The new law is actually established as two ordinances, which ban both public and private use of the technology.

On August 18, 2020, the London High Court handed down its judgment on appeal in the so-called “Bridges” case.