European Union: Closed consultation on EDPB Guidelines 05/2022 regarding privacy protection in the use of facial recognition

On 27 June 2022, the European Data Protection Board (EDPB) closed the public consultation on the Guidelines 05/2022 on the use of facial recognition technology in the area of law enforcement that it had opened on 16 May 2022. The EDPB points out that the use of facial recognition technologies (FRTs) may lead to serious risks for the rights of data subjects. This could, according to the EDPB, lead to several possible violations of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union by the Member States of such technologies when used publicly. Before the use of FRTs, an assessment should be made as to their necessity and proportionality in accordance with Article 52(1) of the Charter. In addition, the EDPB calls for a general prohibition of this type of FRTs in public spaces if they may, for example, lead to discrimination against individuals.