Olympic Games

09.03.2023

France’s Law Commission makes changes to Paris 2024 surveillance Bill

France’s Law Commission makes changes to Paris 2024 surveillance Bill
  • Members of the discussion:

  • Last reply:


Two changes have been made to a controversial Bill that will allow experimental artificial intelligence (AI)-powered video surveillance to be used during next year’s Olympics and Paralympics in Paris.

The French National Assembly’s Law Commission has adopted the two amendments during a meeting today, according to French newspaper Le Monde.

Among those included setting the date of ending the permission of AI video surveillance to the end of December next year.

The French Council of State had requested for the technology to be in use until June 30 in 2025 but December 31 in 2024 has been agreed by the Law Commission "such as to allow relevant evaluation of the device".

Thomas Rudigoz, a member of the National Assembly, said the December date was "consistent with the period of the Olympic and Paralympic Games".

This concomitance of dates will make it possible not to anticipate a possible perpetuation of the algorithmic processing thus tested, by creating the conditions for an in-depth collective reflection on the advisability of perpetuating or not these devices in the internal security code," added National Assembly member Guillaume Villetet.

The other amendment to the Bill adopted by the Law Commission stated that the public must be notified before entering an area where AI video surveillance would be in use.

French National Assembly member Thomas Rudigoz was among the authors of the two amendments of the surveillance Bill ©Getty Images

It is up to the regulatory power to ensure, in practice, this information in a visible, intelligible, clear and precise manner on the areas concerned,

the amendment read in the report by Le Monde.

The French Senate overwhelmingly backed the Bill last month, with French Sports Minister Amélie Oudéa-Castéra calling the legislation an "essential milestone" for the Games.

The Bill includes the introduction of large-scale, real-time camera systems supported by an algorithm that detects suspicious behaviour including unsupervised luggage and potential stampedes.

Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International were among 38 civil society organisations that recently wrote a letter to the National Assembly expressing their opposition to the Bill among human rights concerns.

They claim that the implementation of the Bill would "pose unacceptable risks to fundamental rights, such as the right to privacy, the freedom of assembly and association, and the right to non-discrimination".


If the proposed law is passed it would make France the first European Union member state to explicitly legalise such practices.

We call on you to consider rejecting Article 7 and to open up the issue for further discussion with civil society,

the letter read.

Otherwise, its adoption would establish a worrying precedent of unjustified and disproportionate surveillance in publicly accessible spaces to the detriment to fundamental rights and freedoms.

The Bill, which is being examined by the Law Commission this week, is set to be addressed by the National Assembly from March 21 to 23.

Top
Top of discussion

The 2023 World Figure Skating Championships Conclude in a Blaze of Glory for Japan

This Championship was pretty amazing! And it showed that without Russians it didn’t become less interesting. The public doesn’t need quads by 15 year olds to enjoy the competition

Elena Anikina: "We hope, especially considering the position and strategy which IOC has now, that very soon the situation will be changed"

Apparently, soon Russia will have to build luge-bobsleigh tracks not only in Russia, but also in partner countries!) In terms of competitiveness for Russian bobsleigh, this is a st

Alexander Tkachev: "We make sure that our athletes get the most important thing - the opportunity to compete"

Yes, it is an interesting vector of development, it is also important here what projects and initiatives Russia can offer for Asian countries? Will we be able to host the Asian Che

Israeli gymnastics hit by allegations parents were asked to bribe judges

A great case, it seems tha now we need an analogue of WADA, who will investigate attempts to bribe judges, etc. It will be very interesting.

Sport and politics: my experiences as an athlete

Все это лишь еще раз доказывает, что спорт должен оставаться вне политики. К сожалению, чаще всего это просто слова.

Olympian, Nassar survivor Tasha Schwikert Moser on USA Gymnastics' board of directors

Очень круто, когда человек уверен, что именно он может что-то изменить, а особенно когда человек знает спорт изнутри. Уважать!

Disqualified for running in a hijab, Noor Alexandria Abukaram turned pain into action

Хочу поблагодарить эту спортсменку за то, что она не побоялась поставить свою историю в пример. Я считаю, что спортсмен может раскрыть свою религию. Хиджаб – выявленная черта мусул

Suni Lee finds support at Auburn after Olympics 'impostor syndrome'

Случайно, я знаю об этой спортсменке, сделал один вывод, что она точно не блещет, она очень солнечный человек. Жаль, что кто-то не был счастлив, когда она заслужила золото для свое

'Anesthetic injections are....' - WADA chief on doping accusation on French Open winner Rafael Nadal

Да, конечно, спорт — это преодоление себя. А к Рафаэлю вопросов нет, только респект за шикарную игрушку. Но все же, мне кажется, нельзя на сто процентов сказать, что теннисистка то

Give us a chance

Yes, I think athlets from foreign countries understand that all Championships and tournaments are not competitive enough without Russian athlets. I think one day when the situatio

Sport and Politics. Instead of afterword

The question of connection between Sports and Politics was always "exstra burning". So I am interested in your opinion: where should be the border between sport and politics and wh

“Oh, come on, where’s the medals?” or Do the media force athletes too hard?

I am pleased to announce that the British duck has been broken. Team GB will win at least one silver by the end of the Games on Sunday following their win in the Men's Curling semi

We use cookies to improve the site and your interaction with it. If you continue to use this website, you are giving :appName permission to collect and store cookies on your device.