Debate: Artificial intelligence in criminal law and its use by the police and judicial authorities in criminal matters
Date: MONDAY, 4 OCTOBER 2021
Speaker: Ylva Johansson
Language: EN

An attack on a human being. An attack also on our society and our values, on our fundamental rights: the right to life, freedom of expression, freedom of the media. Police caught the suspects within the hour with only a fragment of the getaway car’s registration number. Using state-of-the-art camera systems, the police forced the car to a standstill on the motorway.  Smart digital technology used in defence of citizens’ and our fundamental rights. Without this technology, these criminals would have quite simply got away. To protect both our people and their rights digital technology is no longer a ‘nice to have’, but a ‘need to have’ for law enforcement. First, because of the massive amounts of data. In one German state last year, the police seized 3 000 terabytes of data in child sexual abuse investigations alone. They estimated it would take one police officer more than 2 000 years to review, and that’s assuming an officer working eight hours a day looking at one picture every second. A computer processes these images 10 to 20 times faster at least, 24 hours a day, never gets tired, makes fewer mistakes, doesn’t get sick from what they see, does not need therapy.  And time is of the essence. In the EncroChat case, Sky ECC and Trojan Shield, the police captured hundreds of millions of messages with criminals plotting drug deals, violent crimes and even murder. Delays can cost lives.  Second, criminals increasingly use artificial intelligence to commit deception and fraud, cyber attacks and ransomware attacks. We can’t ask the police to bring a knife to a gunfight. We must equip the police with modern tools to fight modern crimes.  Third, we need up-to-date information exchange to fight cross-border crime, and I will address this in the upcoming proposals on a police cooperation code and the update of the Prüm framework.  I know you are concerned about the rights to privacy and data protection, and I must stress that we must both protect security and respect fundamental rights at the same time, that’s essential for the trust of our citizens. We need to demystify technology and explain the strong safeguards that already exist. A balanced approach and strong safeguards should govern law enforcement’s use of technology, anchored in national laws, guarded by data protection authorities, subject to redress mechanisms and parliamentary oversight.  There is oversight on European level by, for example, the European Data Protection Supervisor and the Joint Parliamentary Scrutiny Group on Europol. The Court of Justice of the European Union and the European Court of Human Rights have built up a body of case law that is relevant for the use of technology by law enforcement. Procedural rights are already guaranteed: the right to effective remedy, to a fair trial, the rights of defence and the presumption of innocence.  I also agree that AI applications must fulfil robust legal and technical requirements, in particular when they are used by public authorities. The legal accountability for the eventual harmful effect of such systems must be clearly assigned. And this is why these issues are addressed in the Commission’s proposed AI regulation. We need a European approach to ensure safety and full respect of fundamental rights when artificial intelligence is used.  The proposal recognises AI as a strategic tool for law enforcement, to fight terrorism and organised crime. The regulation will facilitate the use of artificial intelligence in a transparent, reliable and secure way, also for law enforcement authorities, by providing clear rules. And I completely agree with you: there is no room for mass surveillance in our society. Our proposal bans mass social scoring and prohibits live biometric identification in public spaces, with a few very well-defined exceptions.  But the police must be able to use AI and digital technology for high risk cases with a potential adverse impact on fundamental rights. AI must live up to the highest standards. It must be robust, secure and accurate. The quality of data must be exceptional. Its use must not lead to a discriminatory or racist outcome, and it must be subject to human oversight. When artificial intelligence affects people, people must have the final say.  Let me end by saying again that we must protect both security and fundamental rights, and I am convinced that we can, and this is what our citizens want. I hope that you are ready to work together with me to uphold our values and keep our citizens safe.