France’s decision to extend AI-powered video surveillance in public spaces until March 2025 is stirring fears over privacy and civil liberties. Critics argue that the technology, introduced for the 2024 Olympics, could lead to discriminatory practices and excessive monitoring.
Algorithmic video surveillance (AVS), which uses AI to detect behaviours like crowd movements and abandoned objects, has drawn fire for its potential to infringe on individual rights.
Prime Minister Michel Barnier this month paved the way for its widespread use in public spaces, following hot on the heels of an endorsement of the "experimental" technology by Paris Police chief Laurent Nunes.
The extended use of AVS comes despite an evaluation report on the technology’s ethics not being due until the end of the year.
Sophisticated algorithms
AVS combines traditional video surveillance with artificial intelligence to monitor public spaces.
Algorithms are programmed to detect specific behaviours or situations, such as fires, abandoned objects, crowd movements, excessive density – or individuals entering restricted areas.
While facial recognition is not currently part of its capabilities, critics worry that future developments could push the boundaries of privacy.
"This technology is more of a way to increase surveillance on the streets and to focus on certain categories within the population, opening the possibilities of discrimination and the infringement of human rights," said Bastien Le Querrec of the digital freedom outfit La Quadrature du Net.
Though the technology aims to automate surveillance and increase camera efficiency, Le Querrec said the system disproportionately targets certain groups and expands everyday surveillance.
Extension of Olympics law
AVS was initially authorised under the 2023 JOP Law, which was designed to secure large-scale events like the Olympics.
While facial recognition isn't yet allowed under French law, the use of AI to monitor public spaces is still dangerous, Le Querrec told RFI.
Images from all the security cameras will be "screened beyond human capability", which effectively automates surveillance – putting robots in the driving seat.
He warned that even if current technologies remain within legal limits, future advancements could easily “cross the line,” Le Querrec added.
Despite the controversy, Paris Police Chief Nunes has backed the system, calling it necessary for public safety.
Meanwhile, Barnier's government is pushing for broader application, even as France's data protection watchdog, CNIL, has warned against a “ratchet effect” – where temporary measures become permanent.
Processing personal data
With AI becoming a permanent fixture in policing, legal experts are raising concerns about how AVS data could be misused. The processing of personal data remains at the heart of these worries.
Le Querrec believes activism, rather than the courts, will be the key to pushing back against this surveillance.
"Before the Olympics, this technology was not legal. The law is very clear ... it's the processing of personal data," he said.
Yet, despite its illegality, Le Querrec noted that many French cities have been using similar technologies for years.
“Development companies are selling illegal technology to cities, and the government is aware of it,” he added.
The loophole lies in the fact that algorithmic surveillance monitors “abnormal behaviour” in groups – a biometric process – but doesn’t involve directly harvesting personal data.
This has left France’s legal institutions, including the Constitutional Council, reluctant to challenge AVS.
"The French government, French lawmakers and the French Constitutional Council seem to be aligned ... so the national courts will never favour limiting this technology," Le Querrec said.
"Even the CNIL is in favour of this technology, so all the safeguards are failing to prevent its use."
