Security with AI: facial recognition comes to stadiums and major events

Facial recognition, aided by artificial intelligence, is being introduced in stadiums, at major events and in law enforcement’s preventive operations. Following a crime, AI will be able to identify individuals already under suspicion from video and photographic footage. In real time, in public places, it may be activated for preventative purposes, for example to combat terrorism, or to search for missing persons, victims of kidnapping, trafficking or sexual exploitation. However, as Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi assures us, ‘there is no generalised Big Brother’. This is the most sensitive aspect of the legislative decree approved by the Council of Ministers to bring Italia into line with the European AI Act: biometrics becomes a tool for public safety, with different rules depending on its use.

The legislation allows the police to develop and deploy artificial intelligence systems. However, it sets a limit: before being used in actions that could affect people’s rights, automated results must undergo a qualified and traceable human review. Machines alone are not enough. The Home Secretary explained this yesterday: ‘Artificial intelligence is a support tool, not an automated police officer. Decisions remain human.’

The most sensitive aspect is biometrics. Article 8 of the Legislative Decree permits real-time remote identification in public places for preventive purposes. Such use, Piantedosi added, ‘is permitted only in exceptional cases, even before crimes are committed: all this may take place when there is a danger or threat under specific conditions relating to terrorism or other crimes of particular social concern, or when there is a need to search for missing persons or victims of trafficking, abduction or sexual exploitation’. Authorisation from the public prosecutor is required, at the request of the police commissioner or provincial commanders of the law enforcement agencies. Maximum duration: fifteen days, extendable.

Alongside prevention is retrospective facial recognition, governed by Article 10. This involves AI-integrated video surveillance systems in venues and at events where public order and safety are a priority: stadiums, large-scale events, and venues where access is controlled by tickets and often by allocated seating. Biometric access data may be stored locally for seven days. Facial recognition, however, may be triggered following a crime, including an attempted one, and with a time lag such that it does not amount to real-time identification. The purpose is limited: to identify individuals already under suspicion on the basis of video and photographic images and objective, verifiable evidence. Responsibility lies with the public security officer appointed by the Chief of Police. The data controller is the Ministry of the Interior – Department of Public Security. The installation and maintenance of the systems are at the expense of the private event organisers.

The requirements vary depending on the circumstances. In preventive measures, authorisation is granted by the public prosecutor; in criminal proceedings, authorisation is required from the investigating judge. The retrospective approval under Article 10, however, remains the responsibility of the officer appointed by the Chief of Police.