Spain Plans Controversial Facial Recognition at Ceuta and Melilla Borders

Currently, to transit through the borders of Ceuta and Melilla, travelers only need to present documents proving their identity. Spain intends to strengthen this system by installing facial recognition cameras. "The faces of travelers will be detected, their fingerprints will be collected and the dates and places of entry and exit, or cases of refusal, will be recorded," indicates the Spanish media El Periodico.

With a budget of 4.1 million euros, the project was launched at the end of 2019 by the Spanish Ministry of the Interior and was to be completed within 24 months, which was ultimately not respected, the newspaper points out.

Faced with this tightening of entry measures into the enclaves, more than 80 Spanish associations have signed a manifesto alerting to the danger of the use of artificial intelligence at border posts. The signatories denounce in particular the violation of the fundamental rights and privacy of travelers transiting through these two borders.

According to them, this provision exposes travelers to several dangers, including "the transfers of asylum seekers from one EU Member State to another against their will, which have been increasing in recent years, and which have been, in part, facilitated by the collection of biometric data, such as their fingerprints."

They add that "biometric data are data intrinsic to people" and their collection implies a violation of the privacy of travelers, noting that "the collection of biometric data from people who do not have a European passport does not respect the principle of proportionality."