French police stop using camera drones after privacy watchdog investigation

French police stop using camera drones after a demand from the French data protection authority CNIL. Police services mainly used these drones to check whether the corona measures were being observed, but they violated the privacy law.

French police forces announced in March last year that they wanted to use camera drones to check whether French residents were complying with quarantine measures. In addition, police forces used these drones to monitor demonstrations and riots and to scout buildings for arrest or investigation purposes. The French Commission nationale de l’informatique et des libertés therefore decided to investigate the drones and test them against privacy legislation.

The privacy watchdog noted that with the camera of the drone it would be possible to identify people, which should not be allowed under the French privacy law. The French Ministry of the Interior, responsible for the French police forces, had also not carried out a data protection impact assessment. However, such a dpia would be mandatory in this situation, according to the CNIL.

The ministry said it would make people’s faces unrecognizable, but the way in which it was done was not acceptable, according to the CNIL. The images were not blurred on the drone itself, but this only happened later. The ministry therefore had to collect, send and process the images before the people depicted became unrecognizable. In addition, the ministry could theoretically disable blurring. Because the ministry can do this, the ministry cannot rule out the possibility that people can be identified, the CNIL says.

The data protection authority cannot issue fines to the French state. However, the body can demand that the government no longer uses the drones, which it has done. The ministry has indicated that it will comply with this. Police forces may resume the use of CNIL drones if they can prevent people from being identified, or if the legislation is amended.