The Spanish soccer employer returns to the load with its intention of implementing facial recognition systems and fingerprints in accesses to the stadiums, despite the fact that European regulations prevent it, so they continue to work on how to achieve it.
The current situation. Javier Tebas, president of LaLiga, reiterated on Tuesday in Congress his desire to apply biometric identification in the stadiums. “Within the stadiums there are people who are prohibited from entry, but the data protection agency has told us that it goes against the European regulations,” he said according to Mark.
This battle is not new. In January 2024, the Spanish Agency for Data Protection (AEPD) has already launched a warning to LaLiga for teaching a contract to develop a facial recognition system in access to the fields.
Between the lines. LaLiga’s motivation is clear: reinforcing her fight against violence and racism in stadiums. The organization has filed more than 40 criminal complaints and reported more than 560 intolerant chants since 2013.
Ensure that those sanctioned with the prohibition of access to the stadiums can go to the matches with the payment of another person or with a free admission is what LaLiga would seek implementing biometry.
The obstacle. The General European Data Protection Regulation expressly prohibits the processing of biometric data except for very specific exceptions, such as the explicit consent of the interested party or a need for essential public interest.
There are some precedents in Spain, but with many nuances. This is the case of Osasuna, which already implemented in 2022 facial recognition in the Sadar, but as a voluntary and complementary system to the traditional fertilizer.
- The key is precisely in their optional character: partners can choose to register their face to access the stadium or maintain their usual method. However, that did not help him to avoid a recent fine of 200,000 euros.
- The technology, developed by the Pamplonesa company, converts facial images into numerical codes that cannot be converted into images, thus complying with privacy requirements.
Consulted by WorldOfSoftwareLaLiga refers to an October statement already the therabas of Thebes in Congress. In that press release, the employer stressed that “biometry would be a crucial tool for the detection and eradication of violent and racist behaviors in the stadiums.”
In fact, Miguel Ángel Aguilar, prosecutor for hate crimes, supported this idea by suggesting “the reform of the data protection law to allow biometric identification, obtain evidence and condemn the people who perform the insults in the stadiums “.
Deepen. The AEPD has been blunt: when there are less intrusive alternatives to verify the identity, such as showing the access title next to the ID, “it is hardly justifiable” to implement biometric systems. In addition, the agency warns that there must first be a legal basis that justifies data processing, not vice versa.
For now, LaLiga continues to work with the Interior Ministry to try to find a route that allows these systems to be implemented, although the current regulatory framework seems to leave it in a difficult aspiration to materialize.
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