Paolo Cirio's 'Capture' Targets Facial Recognition with Police Portrait Database
On October 1, 2020, Paolo Cirio, an Italian artist, unveiled 'Capture,' an initiative that gathers a database of 4,000 faces of French police officers. To create this, he sourced 1,000 images from protests and utilized facial recognition technology, subsequently putting up posters around Paris. The endeavor includes a collaborative video with Labo 148 and seeks to draw attention to the misuse of facial recognition, launching a petition called 'Ban Facial Recognition Europe' with EDRI, aiming for 50,000 signatures. Cirio critiques existing regulations like GDPR as inadequate. The project also references Clearview AI and features a 15-meter installation. On October 15, it faced censorship from Panorama at Le Fresnoy following a request from Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin, prompting Cirio to write an open letter to Culture Minister Roselyne Bachelot.
Key facts
- Paolo Cirio announced Capture on October 1, 2020.
- The project creates a database of 4,000 French police officers' faces.
- Cirio collected 1,000 images of officers during protests in France.
- Images were processed with facial recognition software.
- Posters of officers' faces were distributed in Paris.
- A video with Labo 148 documents the project.
- Capture launches Ban Facial Recognition Europe petition with EDRI.
- Petition targets 50,000 signatures for an EU-wide ban on facial recognition.
- France developed Alicem, an Android app using facial recognition for public services.
- Algorithm Watch report (Dec 11, 2019) found 11 EU states use facial recognition.
- Italy uses Sari software; Spain and Belgium have restrictions.
- Clearview AI is used by US law enforcement with over 3 billion images.
- Installation includes 15-meter display of 150 officers' faces and seven giclée prints.
- Work was censored from Panorama at Le Fresnoy on October 15, 2020.
- Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin demanded removal via Twitter.
- Cirio wrote an open letter to Culture Minister Roselyne Bachelot on October 6.
- Lawyer Raphaël Kempf stated displaying public photos is legal.
- Darmanin was appointed vice president of Le Fresnoy in 2016.
Entities
Artists
- Paolo Cirio
Institutions
- EDRI (European Digital Rights)
- Labo 148
- CNIL (Commission Nationale de l'Informatique et des Libertés)
- Algorithm Watch
- Le Fresnoy-Studio National des Arts Contemporains
- Panorama
- New York Times
- Herta
- Dermalog
- Hanwang Technology Ltd
- Clearview AI
- Quadrature du Net
- Spirit
- Sari
- Alicem
Locations
- Turin
- Italy
- Paris
- France
- Lille
- Europe
- United States
- Spain
- Belgium
- China