Progress on Biometric Identification in the Draft EU AI Act Negotiations
Summary
On November 3, 2023, EU policy-makers reportedly reached a potential breakthrough on the treatment of remote biometric identification (RBI) in the forthcoming draft EU AI Act, resolving a major roadblock in the ongoing “trilogue” between the European Commission, the European Parliament and the European Council to finalize the law. While the European Commission had envisioned a limited use of RBI, the European Parliament had sought a total ban on the technology. Under the compromise, RBI would apparently be permitted in exceptional circumstances, such as tracking down a suspected criminal for a severe offense. RBI systems would also likely need to register in the EU public database and undergo a fundamental rights impact assessment. Finally, a judicial authority would likely need to validate the real-time usage of RBI or, if necessary, approve its use within 48 hours. The European Parliament reportedly received a number of concessions in return, including an expanded list of banned AI applications and others. The breakthrough builds on progress at the three European institutions’ last trilogue session, during which they reportedly made headway on how to approach “high-risk” AI systems, another major sticking point. While issues like predictive policing remain, negotiators have signaled confidence that they could resolve these differences by the final trilogue session of the year on December 6, 2023
