Stop using drones to tail persons flouting physical distancing norms: French Court
France’s highest administrative court ruled Monday that Paris authorities could no longer use aerial drones to track persons flouting social-distancing rules in the coronavirus fight, handing a victory to rights groups who warned of a threat to personal privacy.
The devices have been deployed in a large number of cities all over the world to make sure lockdowns to support the outbreak are being respected, raising worries that officials were gaining unprecedented surveillance powers during the crisis.
Two French plaintiffs, the Human Rights League and the digital advocacy group Quadrature du Net, filed a case against the Paris drone flights with the State Council this month.
Citing a Senate report, they said police had completed 251 surveillance flights nationwide between March 24 and April 24, soon after France imposed the strict stay-at-home orders.
Paris police and interior ministry officials said these were not trying to identify people but only watch out for any illicit gatherings so they would know where you can send patrols.
However in its ruling, the State Council said that since the drones’ cameras could let police identify individuals on the ground, “there are risks they could be used contrary to personal data protection rules.”
In order to use them, the government would have to issue a decree aiming conditions of their use and secure approval from the national CNIL data privacy watchdog, the council said.
Alternatively, authorities would need to equip the drones with technology that makes it impossible to identify people being filmed.
The ruling could bring about challenges against drone use in Marseille, Nice and other French cities as the united states commences to lift its coronavirus lockdowns.
“There’s no reason to believe this decision shouldn't be applied across all French territory,” Patrice Spinosi, a legal professional for the Human Rights League, told AFP.
