Italy on Monday banned the use of facial recognition and "smart glasses" after its data protection regulator reprimanded two municipalities experimenting with the technologies.
Facial recognition systems that use biometrics will not be allowed until a specific law is passed, or at least until the end of next year, the privacy commissioner said.
The exception is when such technologies play a role in criminal investigations or crime-fighting.
Facial recognition, in accordance with the proportionality principle," the agency said in a statement. According to Italian and EU law, the processing of personal data by public bodies using video equipment is generally authorized for reasons of public interest and related to the activity. by authorities, he added.
However, municipalities wanting to use them must sign "city security pacts" with central government officials, he added. The agency was responding to actions in the southern Italian city of Lecce, where authorities said they were beginning to use facial recognition technology.
The municipality has been asked to provide a description of the systems put in place, their purpose and legal basis, as well as a list of the databases accessed by their surveillance devices, the watchdog said.
The Tuscan city of Arezzo, where local police were to be equipped with super infrared goggles that can recognize license plates, was also targeted by the DPA .
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