After a heated debate among the European Commission, European Parliament, and European Union member states regarding the implications of the groundbreaking Artificial Intelligence (AI) Act, Mher Hakobyan, an advocacy advisor specializing in artificial intelligence, expressed his concerns:
Mher Hakobyan criticized the European Union’s Commission, Council, and Parliament for effectively endorsing what he described as “approving dystopian digital surveillance across the 27 EU Member States, thereby establishing a harmful global precedent in AI regulation.”
In his statement, Hakobyan emphasized the missed opportunity to prevent significant harm to human rights, civic space, and the rule of law within the EU. He highlighted the necessity of implementing a complete ban on facial recognition to address these pressing issues.
Expressing disappointment in the European Parliament’s decision to yield to pressure from member states, Hakobyan noted the shift from their initial stance, which advocated for robust protections, including an unconditional prohibition on live facial recognition. Despite arguments in favor of limited facial recognition use with appropriate safeguards, Hakobyan referenced Amnesty’s research in various locations, illustrating the unavoidable human rights violations associated with facial recognition technology. He reiterated the critical need for an outright ban to mitigate these risks effectively.
Furthermore, lawmakers did not address the export of hazardous AI technologies, such as those facilitating social ranking, which are banned within the EU. This omission, according to Hakobyan, establishes a concerning double standard that enables European companies to profit from systems acknowledged to violate human rights in their home countries.
In the background, preparatory professional meetings are set to take place before the final text can progress into law following the interim high-level political agreement.
Amnesty International has been advocating for stringent regulations on the use, development, and trade of facial recognition technology for verification purposes by both governmental entities and private enterprises. The organization, alongside a coalition of civil society groups led by the European Digital Rights Network (EDRi), seeks to ensure that EU artificial intelligence regulations prioritize and uphold human rights, particularly for individuals in transit.
