Canada: Published Report on Facial Recognition Technology and the Growing Power of Artificial Intelligence

On 4 October 2022, the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics of the Canadian House of Commons published its report "Facial Recognition Technology and the Growing Power of Artificial Intelligence", in which it makes a number of legislative proposals regarding data protection in the context of facial recognition technology. Among other things, the Standing Committee recommends providing a legal definition of permitted and prohibited uses of facial recognition technology, outlining transparency requirements, and prohibiting the use of images of Canadians from public spaces or the internet for creating facial recognition or artificial intelligence databases that could lead to mass surveillance. Further, the Standing Committee recommends expanding data subject rights to include a right to the erasure of personal information and an opt-in requirement for the collection of biometric data by private entities.