Le Monde: MEPs demand Macron ban facial recognition system

Members of the European Parliament have addressed an open letter to French President Emmanuel Macron with a call to ban the use of algorithmic video surveillance software Briefcam by the French police, Le Monde newspaper writes.

The newspaper's article said that following the disclosure of the identities of potential suspects in French police investigations using the facial recognition system, 45 MEPs appealed to the French authorities in the hope of putting pressure on them before the issue is discussed in the European Union.

A group of 45 left-wing European MPs have written an open letter addressed to President of the Republic Macron, Prime Minister Elisabeth Bourne, and Interior Minister Gerald Darmanen. In the letter, they condemned the use of facial recognition systems and demanded their prohibition in public places, as a part of the upcoming European regulation of artificial intelligence.

In November, it was revealed that French police have been using Briefcam's software since 2015 for automatic video recognition of faces and licence plates.