MEPs raise concerns over plan to establish police facial recognition database

MEPs on the European Parliament’s Civil Liberties Committee have discussed EU plans to establish a common facial recognition database for use by police authorities. According to Euractiv, as part of a planned extension of the EU’s 2008 Prum Decision, EU member states have proposed that police authorities be given powers that permit them to share facial images. As the European Parliament only plays a consultative role in reviewing the agreement, MEP Sergey Lagodinsky (Greens) suggested that a deeper fact-based assessment of the potential ramifications of the new system should take place.