On December 16, 2022, Katia Bouslimani successfully defended her PhD Thesis entitled “Consent in the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)” in front of a Jury composed of Professors Brunessen Bertrand, Gloria González Fuster, Celia Zolynski, Peter Swire and Jean-Michel Bruguière and the supervisors of the PhD Thesis Karine Bannelier and Theodore Christakis.

Data is the fuel of AI systems. Anonymisation has been presented as a panacea to protect personal data while enabling AI innovation. However, the growing efficiency of re-identification attacks on anonymised data raises a series of legal questions. 

Due to the proliferation of “intelligent” video devices in public spaces, the French Data Protection Authority (CNIL) launched a public consultation on its draft position concerning the conditions for the deployment of so-called “smart” cameras in public spaces. Following several months of consideration, and various contributions from public and private actors, the Commission published its opinion last July.

In June 2022, the Ada Lovelace institute published an ‘Independent legal review of the governance of biometric data in England and Wales’ written by Matthew Ryder. This review aims to address the current legal uncertainty concerning the collection, use and processing of biometric data in England and Wales. It also puts forward 10 recommendations to improve the legal framework as well as the governance of biometrics in England and Wales.

This is the first ever detailed analysis of what is the most widespread way in which Facial Recognition is used in public (& private) spaces: to authorise access to a place or to a service. The 3rd Report in our #MAPFRE series should be of great interest to lawyers interested in data protection; AI ethics specialists; the private sector; data controllers; DPAs and the EDPB; policymakers; and the general public, who will find here an accessible way to understand all these issues.

The French DPA, CNIL, stressed that “the current debate on facial recognition is sometimes distorted by a poor grasp of this technology and how it works”. This 2nd of 6 Reports of our MAPFRE series provides a path to understanding with a classification table presenting in the most accessible way the different facial processing functionalities and applications used in public spaces.

How to regulate the use of facial recognition in public spaces in Europe? This crucial debate has often been characterised by a lack of clarity and precision. Here is the first of 6 Reports from our big “MAPFRE” research project, a detailed independent study analysing the different ways in which FRT is being used and the related legal issues.

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 Spanish Agency for Data Protection (AEPA) published on February, 13th 2020 a first guide for the adequacy to regulation (EU) 2016/679 (on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data) of products and services that include and use artificial intelligence components.

Significant progress has been made in recent years in the field of image processing, particularly in facial recognition…

Health AI can offer great benefits to society as preventing diseases, healing, or finding remedies. However, it carries important risks.

EU Parliament asked for “a fair and safe use” of AI for consumers in a resolution approved on February 12, 2020. They asked for more information.