“Surveillance Society”

A powerful network of policing agencies, regulators, and industrialists is deciding on the ethics and regulatory framework by which authorities can use the data gathered from motor vehicles. German intelligence agencies in particular are demanding that Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen insert the required interfaces to enable the surveillance.

According to German press reports, meetings between car manufacturers and law enforcement have been ongoing since spring. Intelligence agencies are demanding real-time data on a car’s location, driver history, and even the number of people sitting in the vehicle at any one time.

AI speed cameras which can “spy inside” cars are set to be rolled out nationwide to catch motorists using mobile phones at the wheel or failing to wear seatbelts.

New AI technology is enabling police not only to catch speeding drivers but also clampdown on motorists “distracted” by their phones even if they have them on their lap while at the wheel.

The move has raised privacy concerns while the AA has warned that AI cameras must not become a substitute for traffic officers stopping suspect motorists who might also be drink driving – an offence which would not be caught by simply snapping images.

MONTREAL – Some police services in Canada are using facial recognition technology to help solve crimes, while other police forces say human rights and privacy concerns are holding them back from employing the powerful digital tools.

It’s this uneven application of the technology — and the loose rules governing its use — that has legal and AI experts calling on the federal government to set national standards.

“Until there’s a better handle on the risks involved with the use of this technology, there ought to be a moratorium or a range of prohibitions on how and where it can be used,” says Kristen Thomasen, law professor at the University of British Columbia.

A federal law passed by the Liberal government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau last year mandating regulation of online platforms such as YouTube and Netflix to ensure they meet government requirements will indeed affect content uploaded by ordinary users, admitted federal lawyers.

Despite successive Heritage Ministers stating that any user-generated content would not be affected by Bill C-11, known as the Online Streaming Act, that was passed into law in April 2023, a recent legal battle with Google regarding revenue compensation has exposed that this might not be the case.

Lawyers for Canada’s Justice Department admitted that Bill C-11 “does allow for regulation of user-uploaded programs on social media services.”

Two police services in the Greater Toronto Area are now using facial recognition technology as part of their investigations, sparking concerns from legal observers who say the investigative tool could come at the expense of privacy rights.

Peel Regional Police Service and York Regional Police Service announced the adoption of the software late last month, saying the move comes after consultations with the province’s information and privacy commissioner. The police services also held public consultations in March and April.