French police secretly using facial recognition software developed by Israeli company since 2015: Report

By Nur Asena Erturk

French police have been secretly using facial recognition software developed by an Israeli company since 2015, an independent media investigation has revealed.

Disclose, which calls itself a "non-profit investigative newsroom," said on Tuesday that French law enforcement acquired the software from Briefcam.

"For eight years, the Ministry of the Interior concealed the use of this tool, which enables facial recognition," it said, adding that the algorithmic video surveillance (VSA) technology "analyzes images captured by cameras or drones to detect deemed 'abnormal' situations."

"Subsequently, it was the judicial police services, the police prefectures of Paris and Marseille, public security, and the national gendarmerie that were equipped with Briefcam's software on dedicated computers," said Disclose, stressing that acquiring the software was carried out "outside the legal framework provided by a European directive and the French Data Protection Act."

The media outlet noted that the Interior Ministry should have informed the National Commission for Information Technology and Civil Liberties about the use of the tool.

The investigation showed that the tool was frequently used although facial recognition was only authorized in rare cases.

"In France, 'more than a hundred cities' have equipped their municipal police with the Briefcam application, according to its representative in Europe, Florian Leibovici," Disclose added.