Right to Privacy and Data Protection Concerns Raised by the Development and Usage of Face Recognition Technologies in the European Union

The fast and fragmentedly regulated development of facial recognition technologies and related artificial intelligence poses various challenges to personal privacy, which leads to potential infringements of a wide range of related human rights. This article analyses the threats that the development and use of facial recognition technologies pose to privacy and personal data protection. It discusses the concept of privacy and the protection of personal data, including biometric data, at European Union level, and assesses the proposed new legal framework. It questions whether this is sufficient to protect privacy and ensure personal data protection in the context of the rapid development and increasing usage of facial recognition technologies in public and private sectors.