Pradels, Adrien (2026) Mass Facial Recognition for Counterterrorism: A Perspective on Fundamental Rights. In: Les Ateliers de l'ESL, 28/05/2026, Toulouse.

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Abstract

The first quarter of the 21st century was deeply marked by acts of terrorism. Indeed, States were not institutionally prepared for this form of political violence. Consequently, the measures subsequently adopted to address this vulnerability, particularly facial recognition, have themselves created victims of a different kind, who remain largely invisible. Paolo Cirio, an Italian artist, collected 1,000 public photos taken during protests in France and processed them using facial recognition software; he subsequently published the photo series Capture, comprising 4,000 faces of French police officers. This work thus comments on the potential uses and abuses of facial recognition by challenging the power imbalance at play. This raises a question that this commentary aims to examine: if states are responsible for our protection, who holds them accountable, and how can states effectively combat terrorism while remaining bound by fundamental rights and the rule of law?