With the chaos surrounding the Champions League final in Paris still fresh in their minds, the French government is hoping for artificial intelligence (AI) video surveillance for the upcoming Olympic Games in the same city. The French Senate passed the proposal on Tuesday, but opponents fear a ‘Trojan horse’ that will not disappear after the Games and will further affect the fundamental rights of citizens.
With 245 votes in favor and 28 against, Macron’s government proposal was passed in the French Senate on Tuesday. If the piece is also approved by the General Assembly of parliament soon, it will mean a two-year trial in which video surveillance will take place for the first time in France with the help of AI.
Cameras on the streets or from drones, for example, will be analyzed by software with certain algorithms that should be able to ‘detect suspicious movements of crowds’. Think of crowding or traffic jams in a crowd, a forgotten package or a running group of people. The police will be notified, so that targeted action can then be taken.
Too little manpower
The French Sports Minister, Amélie Oudéa-Castéra, described the measures as “an essential milestone in our preparation for the Olympic Games”, which should take place in Paris in the summer of 2024. She was satisfied with the Senate vote. According to her and her colleague from the Interior, Gérald Darmanin, there is simply not enough manpower to view and assess all surveillance images live. It is also unclear whether the government can deploy enough agents and private security companies to manage the expected crowds during the Games. The Games are expected to attract thirteen million visitors, figures The Guardian.
The Les Républicains group, among others, voted in favor of the proposal. Senator Agnès Canayer said afterwards that the collection of rules will ‘contribute to the safety of the Games’.
Text continues below the photo.
Champions League Final
The chaos surrounding the Champions League final between Liverpool and Real Madrid in Paris in May last year is still fresh in the memory. The match started more than half an hour later than scheduled, because thousands of visitors were stopped outside the stadium. The chaos probably arose because a lot of fake cards were in circulation. As a result, long queues formed at the gates of the Stade de France. Some people entered the stadium by climbing over the fences. French police used tear gas, including against football fans, parents and children waiting in line.
A French senate investigation two months later blames the chaos on a lack of preparation by the French authorities and the European football association UEFA, and poorly implemented security measures.
Text continues below the photo.
Curb freedoms
Opponents of the bill accuse the government of wanting to further curb citizens’ freedoms. They fear that the bill, once passed, will be a ‘Trojan horse’. It gives the government the opportunity to experiment with the new way of video surveillance for two years from 30 June (until 30 June 2025) during all kinds of sporting, recreational or cultural events – starting around the Rugby World Cup in September and October this year – and who says it will stop after that.
“In fact, we will have a France under a magnifying glass,” complained Guy Benarroche, whose Écologiste – Solidarité et Territoires group voted against. The communists in the French Senate were also dissatisfied. “In this way, we are not only sweeping the fundamental rights of citizens under the rug, we are also undermining the popularity of the Olympic Games,” said Eliane Assassi. The Socialist group abstained because the government “had not dispelled the doubts,” explained Jérôme Durain.
‘Dangerous step’
The French government tried to allay the objections in the run-up to the vote by stating that the new method of video surveillance is still seen as an experiment for a certain period. Biometric identification and facial recognition are also not used.
Nevertheless, Amnesty International has already called video surveillance using AI a ‘turning point’ and ‘a dangerous step’ for human and privacy rights. “We are deeply concerned that these algorithms will be able to analyze images from fixed surveillance cameras or drones to detect ‘abnormal or suspicious’ behavior,” said Katia Roux on behalf of the French branch of the human rights organization. The Guardian.
“First, there is the issue of defining abnormal or suspicious behavior – who will decide what behavior is normal or not? Also in terms of human rights and fundamental freedoms, we believe that the proposal poses a threat to the right to private life. It may also affect freedom of expression, the freedom to meet and the principle of non-discrimination.”
Roux acknowledged that the French government had said no biometric data would be used, but also stated that “in reality, the algorithms will analyze behavior and physical data, data that must be protected.”
Watch our news videos in the playlist below:
Free unlimited access to Showbytes? Which can!
Log in or create an account and don’t miss a thing of the stars.
#chaos #final #French #government #hopes #video #surveillance #artificial #intelligence #Games #Paris