investigationOngoing

UOOU (Czech DPA) Police of the Czech Republic (IS DPO facial-recognition system)

December 31, 2024 · Czech Republic

A completed UOOU inspection of the Police 'Digital Images of Persons' system, which uses automatic facial recognition against ID/passport photo databases, found the Police Act does not provide a sufficiently predictable legal basis for the biometric processing and that the Police failed to consult the Office before deployment.

Key takeaway — how to prevent this

Biometric data (faces, iris, fingerprints) needs an explicit lawful basis or consent. Scraping or capturing it without one is unlawful across the EU/UK and many US states (e.g. Illinois BIPA) — and draws the largest fines.

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