France Plans to Become First European Country to Use Facial Recognition for Digital Identity System

France Plans to Become First European Country to Use Facial Recognition for Digital Identity System

The French government plans to introduce a program called Alicem that will require residents to take a selfie video to compare to their passport photo.

  • By Haley Samsel
  • Oct 04, 2019

As part of its plans to roll out an ID program in November, the French government will incorporate facial recognition technology into a mandatory digital identity for all citizens, according to a Bloomberg report.

President Emmanuel Macron’s government is championing the ID program, known as Alicem, as a way to make government programs more efficient. But France’s data regulator has said that Alicem breaches Europe’s rules around consent for collecting personal data, Bloomberg reported. In addition, after a hacker was able to gain access to a government messaging app in a little over an hour, citizens are concerned about the country’s ability to keep their data secure. 

French privacy rights group La Quadrature du Net has already filed a lawsuit against the government for its plans to launch an Android-only app that will be the only way for French people to create a legal digital identity. Facial recognition will be its sole enabler, according to Bloomberg. 

Once residents download the app, they will create their ID by comparing a passport-style photo to a selfie video taken by the user to obtain different angles and expressions. Critics say that this app violates the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), and France’s independent privacy watchdog has voiced its concerns about potential GDPR issues. 

“The government wants to funnel people to use Alicem and facial recognition,” Martin Drago, a lawyer member of La Quadrature du Net, told Bloomberg. “We’re heading into mass usage of facial recognition. (There’s) little interest in the importance of consent and choice.”

While France may be the first European country to institute a facial recognition-based digital ID, countries in Asia are in the midst of launching their own programs or already have. Singapore is creating a facial recognition system for government services, China uses facial recognition IDs to monitor its citizens, and India scans people’s irises for its identity systems. 

Macron’s interior ministry maintains that face scans will be deleted after the person enrolls in the system, and that they will not be used to monitor residents, according to MIT Technology Review. For Patrick Van Eecke, a privacy and data specialist in Belgium, the French program can be viewed through two lenses. 

“You can look at France’s use of facial recognition for digital identity in two ways: it goes too far in terms of privacy, or they’re using the most secure new technology. Are they a front-runner or are they overstepping the mark?” Van Eecke told Bloomberg. 

About the Author

Haley Samsel is an Associate Content Editor for the Infrastructure Solutions Group at 1105 Media.

Featured

  • Maximizing Your Security Budget This Year

    Perimeter Security Standards for Multi-Site Businesses

    When you run or own a business that has multiple locations, it is important to set clear perimeter security standards. By doing this, it allows you to assess and mitigate any potential threats or risks at each site or location efficiently and effectively. Read Now

  • New Research Shows a Continuing Increase in Ransomware Victims

    GuidePoint Security recently announced the release of GuidePoint Research and Intelligence Team’s (GRIT) Q1 2024 Ransomware Report. In addition to revealing a nearly 20% year-over-year increase in the number of ransomware victims, the GRIT Q1 2024 Ransomware Report observes major shifts in the behavioral patterns of ransomware groups following law enforcement activity – including the continued targeting of previously “off-limits” organizations and industries, such as emergency hospitals. Read Now

  • OpenAI's GPT-4 Is Capable of Autonomously Exploiting Zero-Day Vulnerabilities

    According to a new study from four computer scientists at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, OpenAI’s paid chatbot, GPT-4, is capable of autonomously exploiting zero-day vulnerabilities without any human assistance. Read Now

  • Getting in Someone’s Face

    There was a time, not so long ago, when the tradeshow industry must have thought COVID-19 might wipe out face-to-face meetings. It sure seemed that way about three years ago. Read Now

    • Industry Events
    • ISC West
Most   Popular

Featured Cybersecurity

Webinars

New Products

  • Luma x20

    Luma x20

    Snap One has announced its popular Luma x20 family of surveillance products now offers even greater security and privacy for home and business owners across the globe by giving them full control over integrators’ system access to view live and recorded video. According to Snap One Product Manager Derek Webb, the new “customer handoff” feature provides enhanced user control after initial installation, allowing the owners to have total privacy while also making it easy to reinstate integrator access when maintenance or assistance is required. This new feature is now available to all Luma x20 users globally. “The Luma x20 family of surveillance solutions provides excellent image and audio capture, and with the new customer handoff feature, it now offers absolute privacy for camera feeds and recordings,” Webb said. “With notifications and integrator access controlled through the powerful OvrC remote system management platform, it’s easy for integrators to give their clients full control of their footage and then to get temporary access from the client for any troubleshooting needs.” 3

  • Camden CV-7600 High Security Card Readers

    Camden CV-7600 High Security Card Readers

    Camden Door Controls has relaunched its CV-7600 card readers in response to growing market demand for a more secure alternative to standard proximity credentials that can be easily cloned. CV-7600 readers support MIFARE DESFire EV1 & EV2 encryption technology credentials, making them virtually clone-proof and highly secure. 3

  • Compact IP Video Intercom

    Viking’s X-205 Series of intercoms provide HD IP video and two-way voice communication - all wrapped up in an attractive compact chassis. 3