Signal Governments not using facial recognition under the EU AI Act

Summary

The report considers new techniques such as facial and emotion recognition to be highly risky for citizens' privacy and liable to lead to bias and unjust treatment. There is strong interest in such technology from the market. Nevertheless, on the basis of the EU AI Act, in force since early 2025, Dutch governments and public institutions do not currently use facial recognition. The report attributes this to unequal power relations and to the high risk of violating privacy, fundamental rights and public values. It expects new developments to keep testing the limits of what society finds acceptable. At the same time it suggests that governments can use the AI Act as an instrument to steer market developments and labour-market effects in a favourable direction.