The CNIL gives its opinion on the “global security” law proposal

While the national commission for information technology and civil liberties concedes that certain provisions of the text constitute an improvement in the legal framework, it considers that others must be subject to stricter rigorism in order to effectively protect the rights of individuals.

On November 30, 2020, the president of the Senate’s Law Commission made use for the very first time of a faculty that allows him to refer to the CNIL for any bill relating to the protection or processing of personal data.  The decision, handed down on December 26, was publicly presented at a hearing on February 3, 2021.

In particular, the CNIL stressed the complexity of the subject of the proposed law: the use of UAVs is part of a move to deploy the use of video technologies. However, it also pointed out the crucial ethical implications that must not be overlooked when implementing these devices.

Indeed, according to the commission, these tools present significant risks of infringements on public liberties and the private life of individuals when these technological tools, particularly discreet, allow better and above all broader capture of images. They would thus make it possible to become tools of individual surveillance that would risk infringing the fundamental prerogatives of individuals, such as the right to demonstrate, freedom of worship or expression.

For these reasons, the CNIL warns of the need to limit the purposes for which these devices can be used and to strengthen the guarantees surrounding their implementation, notably by monitoring the circumstances of use of these devices, their justification and their duration.

To this end, the commission proposes that the use of UAVs be subject to prior experimentation.

It also specifies that it will be attentive to the effective implementation of the future law with regard to the processing of personal data when the regulatory provisions are presented to it. Finally, it reiterates its ability to monitor and impose sanctions to “ensure compliance with the regulatory framework”.

By the IP/IT team at UGGC Law Firm

Sources : https://www.cnil.fr/fr/la-cnil-rend-son-avis-sur-la-proposition-de-loi-securite-globale