Algorithmic video surveillance: 38 NGOs call for Article 7 of the Paris 2024 law to be rejected

"If Article 7 of the draft law on the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games is adopted, it would establish a worrying precedent of unjustified and disproportionate surveillance in public spaces and a serious threat to civic freedoms and democratic principles. We call on you to consider rejecting Article 7 and to open up the issue for further discussion with national civil society," said 38 international organisations, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, in an article published on the French daily newspaper Le Monde's website on 06/03/2023.

Adopted by the Senate on first reading (245 votes in favour and 28 votes against) on 31/01/2023, this text is subject to an accelerated procedure (one reading per chamber) initiated by the French government on 22/12/2022. Article 7 relating to surveillance by algorithmic cameras was the one that most animated the debates during the hearing with Amélie Oudéa-Castéra, French Minister for Sport and the Olympic and Paralympic Games, by the Law Commission and the Cultural Affairs Commission of the National Assembly on 01/03/2023…