On 28 June, the Pride parade will take place in Budapest, Hungary. The Hungarian police is allowed to use face recognition systems even for minor offences, which include jaywalking or attending the Pride parade.[1] Anyone taking part in the Pride parade can now be identified from a distance and be punished using this technology.[2] This way, the LGBTQIA+ community in Hungary is being deliberately intimidated and criminalized. This is unacceptable!
This form of mass surveillance leads to a decline of our fundamental rights. Using intrusive surveillance technology may have a chilling effect on free speech and the right to protest freely.
Now is the time for the EU to show its teeth and enforce the AI Act, as this act prohibits face recognition in public spaces for surveillance purposes. The EU member states need to consider this a wake-up call and put an end to face recognition in public spaces.
Trying to parse this…
Orban is going after LGBTQ people in Hungary. He even denies the freedom of assembly. But that’s apparently someone else’s problem.
Orban is now using face recognition to police even small infractions, in contravention of the AI Act. Apparently, this is the real horror.
Banning all face recognition in public spaces in the EU is somehow going to fix this.
Not sure if these people are stupid or if this is some kind of grift.