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Billions of euros of scientific research funds allocated by the European Union are spent developing and financing controversial programs aimed at developing security and surveillance technologies for European citizens, according to research by The Guardian.
Furthermore, at least 1.3 billion euros will be allocated to such research in the next 7 years.
A German MEP, Patrick Breyer, has sued the European Commission after the European forum refused to give details of such a controversial project, called iBorderCtrl, aimed at developing new technologies to detect so-called “facial micro-expressions” through which can identify the people who lie.
However, a reporter who tested the effectiveness of this system in 2019 (then in tests on the border between Hungary and Serbia) failed the test: although he gave honest answers, the “virtual policeman” considered that he lied and denied him access to the European Union. .
Basically, an artificial intelligence program decided that a person did not deserve to enter the EU, because the machine appreciated that the man lied to them.
Breyer MEP described the technology as a “pseudoscientific hoax” about security.
In addition, iBorderCtrl would raise ethical issues because it would harm black people with disabilities from the beginning, but also children, the elderly: in these cases the system could give more errors in the interpretation of facial micro-expressions.
Breyer asked the European Commission for more information to better document the ethical and legal aspects of this project. However, the Commission denied him access, citing protection of trade secrets.
Consequently, Breyer sued the Commission. The Court of Justice of the European Communities will decide whether, in this case, the public interest is more important than trade secrets. In the event of such a decision, the European Commission must present the documents required by the MEP.
The case will be tried by the European Court next year.
Horizon 2020: “good” and “bad” research
Horizon 2020 is the Framework Program for Research and Innovation of the European Union. In the 2014-2020 period, this program’s grants were awarded to researchers worth € 80 billion.
Horizon funds research of all kinds, from studies on colon cancer to those related to improving irrigation systems for agriculture.
This year, for example, the German company BioNTech benefited from Horizon funding for the development of the anti-COVID vaccine developed together with Pfizer.
In the last 7 years, through the Horizon 2020 program, 1.7 billion euros have been allocated to the development of various technologies used by security or border control agencies: we are talking about drones, artificial intelligence programs, augmented reality or data interpretation. biometric. All used for surveillance, security and control purposes.
The price the EU pays: European security companies will be more competitive, citizens will have fewer rights
EU officials say these innovations will be crucial in the fight against crime or terrorism. At the same time, there is an economic interest, aimed at making European companies and firms in the sector able to compete in the international market with those of the US, Israel or China.
But what is causing unrest among human rights activists is the growing influence that security companies have in the Horizon project.
Some experts consulted by The Guardian and who have collaborated on EU-funded security projects have expressed doubts about the so-called public interest that some of these programs would serve.
Research projects to be funded through Horizon 2020 are first examined by a team of scientists. If the project is valid, the European Commission hires a group of experts in ethics in scientific research for further evaluation.
“Often times, the problem is that the topic (of the project) itself is unethical,” said Gemma Galdon Clavell, an expert in scientific ethics who has evaluated several research projects under the auspices of Horizon 2020.
“Some projects encourage the development of biometric technologies that can be used without requesting the consent of the interested party. How do you consider it ethical?” Clavell said.
COVID-19 application that informs the police if you do not respect the quarantine
The COVID-19 pandemic has only accelerated the development of such surveillance technologies by EU governments. The use of surveillance drones has seen an unprecedented increase, as have technologies based on facial recognition using biometric data.
In Poland, for example, an application of this type has been launched through which quarantined citizens have to download selfies during the day to show that they are isolated. The application combines geolocation with facial recognition technology and immediately notifies the police if the user does not comply with the quarantine or refuses to download a selfie.
Starting next year, Horizon 2020 will be renamed Horizon Europe. For the period 2021-2027, the project will have an allocated budget of 86,000 million euros and a fund for security research worth 1,300 million euros.
In addition, a supplementary budget of 8,000 million euros will be allocated to research in the field of military technologies.
Editor: Mihnea Lazăr
