Belgium's human rights organisations, Ligue des droits humains (LDH) and Liga voor Mensenrechten, called for a complete ban on real-time facial recognition in Belgium on Friday.
This appeal comes ahead of the AI Act's partial implementation on 2 February. The legislation outlines the use of artificial intelligence (AI) within the European Union. It will prohibit certain AI practices deemed to pose an "unacceptable risk" to individuals' security and fundamental rights.
LDH and the Liga voor Mensenrechten have expressed concern that this legislation includes exceptions, such as using facial recognition during serious threats or to identify suspects of certain crimes.
According to the organisations, the parameters of these exceptions are "very vague" and could apply to a wide range of criminal offences, from illegal dumping to belonging to targeted groups. LDH warns that these broad definitions risk expanding the scope of the use of facial recognition.
They also worry that the police might continue "population tracking" and increase surveillance of historically marginalised and criminalised groups.
"We must consider the consequences of these decisions under an authoritarian regime," they note, highlighting the rise of far-right movements.
Furthermore, LDH points to a bill proposed last December by the outgoing Justice Minister Paul Van Tigchelt (Open VLD), which would allow police to use real-time facial recognition.
The human rights organisations call for a parliamentary debate involving experts and civil society members and advocate for an outright ban on facial recognition in Belgium.