The Rights to Privacy and Data Protection and Facial Recognition Technology in the Global North

Abstract

Facial recognition technology (FRT) is a biometric data-driven technology with a great impact on fundamental rights. The development of artificial intelligence (AI)—more specifically deep learning (DL) techniques applied to computer vision—has taken FRT to another level in terms of accuracy and capabilities. The most obviously impacted rights, in the context of FRT as fuelled by facial images or biometric sensitive data, are privacy and data protection rights. Further, the fact that FRT is a contactless technology might cause difficulties in obtaining actual and free consent from data subjects. Not only FRT—but also its use, especially for mass surveillance purposes—affects other fundamental rights. This chapter, proposing an interpretation of the rights to privacy in general, and data protection in particular, as a corollary, an umbrella to other fundamental rights, will explore these additional impacts of FRT on human dignity, security, freedom of assembly and association, equality before the law and non-discrimination and the rights of the child. This chapter maps the global impact to demonstrate the actual reach of FRT’s threat to fundamental rights.