KOMMISSIONENS GENNEMFØRELSESAFGØRELSE af 7.1.2021 om anmodningen om registrering af det europæiske borgerinitiativ "Civilsamfundsinitiativet om et forbud mod biometrisk masseovervågning"

EN EN
EUROPEAN
COMMISSION
Brussels, 7.1.2021
C(2021) 32 final
COMMISSION IMPLEMENTING DECISION
of 7.1.2021
on the request for registration of the European citizens’ initiative entitled ‘Civil society
initiative for a ban on biometric mass surveillance practices’
(Only the English text is authentic)
Europaudvalget 2020
C (2021) 0032
Offentligt
EN 1 EN
COMMISSION IMPLEMENTING DECISION
of 7.1.2021
on the request for registration of the European citizens’ initiative entitled ‘Civil society
initiative for a ban on biometric mass surveillance practices’
(Only the English text is authentic)
THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,
Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,
Having regard to Regulation (EU) 2019/788 of the European Parliament and of the Council of
17 April 2019 on the European citizens’ initiative1
, and in particular Article 6 thereof,
Whereas:
(1) A request for registration of the European citizens’ initiative entitled ‘Civil society
initiative for a ban on biometric mass surveillance practices’ was submitted to the
Commission on 15 October 2020. On 11 November 2020, the Commission informed
the group of organisers of its assessment2
that the initiative could not be registered in
its entirety because some of the measures it proposed did not meet the requirement laid
down in Article 6(3)(c) of Regulation (EU) 2019/788. The Commission had been
invited to adopt a Commission recommendation, to launch infringement procedures
and to carry out comprehensive research, whilst the Commission can only be
requested to make proposals for legal acts of the Union under the Regulation.
(2) As a result, an amended version of the initiative was submitted to the Commission on
7 December 2020.
(3) The objectives of the amended initiative are expressed as follows: ‘We call on the
European Commission to strictly regulate the use of biometric technologies in order to
avoid undue interference with fundamental rights. In particular, we ask the
Commission to prohibit, in law and in practice, indiscriminate or arbitrarily-targeted
uses of biometrics which can lead to unlawful mass surveillance. These intrusive
systems must not be developed, deployed (even on a trial basis) or used by public or
private entities insofar as they can lead to unnecessary or disproportionate interference
with people’s fundamental rights. Evidence shows that uses of biometric mass
surveillance in Member States and by EU agencies have resulted in violations of EU
data protection law, and unduly restricted people‘s rights including their privacy, right
to free speech, right to protest and not to be discriminated against. The widespread use
of biometric surveillance, profiling and prediction is a threat to the rule of law and our
most basic freedoms. In this ECI, we therefore urge the Commission to propose a legal
act which will build upon, and fully respect, the general prohibitions in the GDPR3
and
1
OJ L 130, 17.5.2019, p. 55.
2
C(2020) 7869.
3
Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the
protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of
such data, and repealing Directive 95/46/EC (General Data Protection Regulation) (OJ L 119, 4.5.2016,
p. 1).
EN 2 EN
the LED4
to ensure that EU law explicitly and specifically prohibits biometric mass
surveillance.’
(4) An annex provides further details on the subject, objectives and background to the
citizens’ initiative and notes that biometric data are increasingly used by public,
national and EU law enforcement authorities and private entities for identification or
profiling of people in public spaces, which poses ‘an inherently unnecessary and
disproportionate interference in a wide range of fundamental rights including privacy
and data protection’. The annex notes, furthermore, that while ‘the existing EU legal
framework clarifies […] that the use of biometric data shall be limited to what is
strictly necessary with regards to a legitimate aim pursued, subject to the principle of
proportionality […] such general principles are subject to broad exceptions’.
(5) The organisers have submitted further background information on their proposal for a
legal act of the Union and possible accompanying measures, as well as a draft legal
act.
(6) The initiative, as amended, invites the Commission to submit a proposal for a legal act
to prohibit indiscriminate uses of biometrics which can lead to mass surveillance. As
already indicated to the organisers by the Commission in its assessment of 11
November 2020, that proposal could be based on Article 16(2) or Article 114 of the
Treaty, or both, depending on whether the use of biometrics would be banned or
strictly regulated. Article 16(2) of the Treaty provides a legal basis for the
Commission to propose legal acts relating to the protection of individuals with regard
to the processing of personal data by Union institutions, bodies, offices and agencies,
and by the Member States when carrying out activities which fall within the scope of
Union law, and the rules relating to the free movement of such data. Article 114 of the
Treaty provides a legal basis for the Commission to propose measures for the
approximation of the provisions laid down by law, regulation or administrative action
in Member States, which have as their object the establishment and functioning of the
internal market.
(7) For these reasons, none of the parts of the initiative manifestly falls outside the
framework of the Commission’s powers to submit a proposal for a legal act of the
Union for the purpose of implementing the Treaties as required by Article 6(3)(c) of
Regulation (EU) 2019/788.
(8) The annex to the initiative refers to four possible accompanying measures. Since the
Commission is not requested to submit a proposal for a legal act of the Union in
respect of any of those measures, the latter do not meet the condition laid down in
Article 6(3)(c) of the Regulation to be registered as part of the subject matter of the
initiative. Those measures thus fall outside the scope of this registration decision.
However, if the Commission considers it appropriate to adopt a proposal for a legal act
in the area covered by the initiative, it could also consider the possibility to take into
account in that proposal some of those measures, namely the need for guidance to the
Member States on the implementation of its provisions, the involvement of the data
protection authorities in the application of such provisions, and the content and
4
Directive (EU) 2016/680 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the
protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data by competent authorities for
the purposes of the prevention, investigation, detection or prosecution of criminal offences or the
execution of criminal penalties, and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Council
Framework Decision 2008/977/JHA (Law Enforcement Directive) (OJ L 119, 4.5.2016, p. 89).
EN 3 EN
principles of the Ethics Guidelines of the High-Level Expert Group on Artificial
Intelligence (AIHLEG)5
.
(9) The group of organisers has provided appropriate evidence that it fulfils the
requirements laid down in Article 5(1) and (2) of Regulation (EU) 2019/788, and that
it has designated the contact persons in accordance with the first subparagraph of
Article 5(3) of that Regulation.
(10) The initiative is neither manifestly abusive, frivolous or vexatious, nor manifestly
contrary to the values of the Union as set out in Article 2 of the Treaty on European
Union and rights enshrined in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European
Union.
(11) In conclusion, the initiative entitled ‘Civil society initiative for a ban on biometric
mass surveillance practices’ meets all the requirements laid down in Article 6(3) of
Regulation (EU) 2019/788 and should therefore be registered.
HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:
Article 1
The European citizens’ initiative entitled ‘Civil society initiative for a ban on biometric mass
surveillance practices’ shall be registered.
Article 2
This Decision is addressed to the group of organisers of the European citizens’ initiative
entitled ‘Civil society initiative for a ban on biometric mass surveillance practices’,
represented by Mr Diego Javier NARANJO BARROSO and Mr Riccardo COLUCCINI
acting as contact persons.
Done at Brussels, 7.1.2021
For the Commission
Věra JOUROVÁ
Vice-President
5
https://ec.europa.eu/futurium/en/ai-alliance-consultation/guidelines