Hosted in Paris, the 2024 Summer Olympics will be an opportunity to test new surveillance methods. Among them, algorithmic monitoring. Unlike facial recognition, which aims to identify every individual filmed, this algorithmic surveillance aims to use artificial intelligence to identify suspicious behavior.
Approved in the Senate at the end of January, experimentation with these “smart” cameras will last until 2025, near stadiums and on nearby public transport. And according to the latest “French security” barometer from Fiducial/Odoxa, relayed by le figarothe French are overwhelmingly in favor.
To the question “Are you for or against the use of these smart cameras…?”, 89% of the more than 1,000 respondents said they were in favor of installing this type of tool in stadiums, compared to 88%. near the stadiums, and 81% on public transport. But beyond the sports context, 74% of those surveyed are in favor of algorithmic surveillance on public roads.
These figures are a continuation of the previous edition of this barometer, dating from October 2022, which raised a broader question: “During the Paris Olympic Games, the government intends to implement video protection algorithms aimed at identifying abnormal behavior in large crowds. Are you yourself for or against?”
In a sample of the same size, 79% of those surveyed declared themselves in favor of these new tools, 19% opposed and 2% did not pronounce.
The CNIL warns
As part of the 2024 Olympic Games, these surveillance cameras should help authorities detect abandoned objects, crowd movements, or even vehicles behaving dangerously. They can be placed on fixed supports, but also on drones.
In July 2022, the Cnil urged the authorities to avoid any “disproportionate multiplication” of these technical solutions, which in his opinion could pose “new privacy risks”.
The Commission has also spoken out against the introduction of facial recognition tools to identify people on the street. A technology that is not intended to be used during the 2024 Olympic Games, but could nevertheless be the subject of experiments thereafter.
Source: BFM TV
