EU consider facial recognition ban 'for up to five years'

The European Commission has revealed it is considering a ban on the use of facial recognition in public areas for up to five years.

Regulators want time to work out how to prevent the technology being abused.

The technology allows faces captured on CCTV to be checked in real time against watch lists, often compiled by police.

Exceptions to the ban could be made for security projects as well as research and development, BBC News reports.

The Commission set out its plans in an 18-page document, suggesting that new rules will be introduced to bolster existing regulation surrounding privacy and data rights.

It proposed imposing obligations on both developers and users of artificial intelligence, and urged EU countries to create an authority to monitor the new rules.

During the ban, which would last between three and five years, "a sound methodology for assessing the impacts of this technology and possible risk management measures could be identified and developed".

The proposals come amid a global debate about facial recognition in both the public and private sectors.

Privacy campaigners claim the current technology is inaccurate, intrusive and infringes on an individual's right to privacy.

A recent US government study suggested facial recognition algorithms are far less accurate at identifying black and Asian faces compared with white faces.