PARIS -- France's privacy watchdog has banned the use of drone cameras to enforce coronavirus restrictions and for other law enforcement purposes, marking a victory for groups arguing that the pandemic has given rise to excessive surveillance.
France's Interior Ministry had conducted drone flights "outside of any legal framework," the privacy watchdog, known as CNIL, said in its strongly worded rebuke released Thursday.
France imposed some of Europe's toughest measures in response to the virus last year and initially deployed helicopters and drones to monitor adherence to the rules. The drones were equipped to spot lockdown violators, guide teams on the ground and broadcast warnings on loudspeakers. But privacy activists feared that the drone monitoring could serve as a trial run for more expansive surveillance programs. The concerns prompted a legal challenge and a ruling by France's highest court in May to suspend the practices in Paris.
Privacy groups said French authorities carried on despite the ruling, continuing to deploy drones at protests.
The decision by France's privacy watchdog -- which significantly raises the stakes for the French government as it applies nationally -- was made as a broader tug-of-war plays out between privacy activists and authorities in Europe over how to police coronavirus restrictions. That debate has been held around the world in recent months, as leaders and authorities in a number of countries were accused of using the pandemic as a pretext to expand their powers. But Europe's extensive privacy laws have put civil-liberties activists in a stronger position than activists elsewhere.
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After a Belgian police force said last month that it would use drones with heat cameras to monitor end-of-year festivities in people's homes, privacy activists rallied against the plans. Belgium's college of public prosecutors subsequently ruled that drones should not be used to crack down on violations of coronavirus rules, even though they can still be deployed to assess crowd sizes from afar.
In Germany and Austria, privacy concerns have largely revolved around police officers' access to private homes to enforce coronavirus rules. Both countries have a high burden of proof that's required for officials to be able to enter homes, and lawmakers in Germany quickly rushed to reassure citizens that this wouldn't change. After criticism, Austria's government abandoned an attempt to change the law.
European governments have faced similar issues in the context of smartphone apps to trace contacts of infected individuals. Whereas officials had hoped such apps could become crucial tools to curb the spread of the virus, privacy concerns have prevented public-health authorities from accessing the data and reduced people's willingness to download the technology. The limitations prompted frustration among users and health authorities -- one German health officials called his country's app "useless."
In a joint statement in November, numerous United Nations agencies, including the World Health Organization, offered support for countries that have relied on data-gathering during the pandemic, arguing that "the collection, use, sharing and further processing of data can help limit the spread of the virus." But the agencies also warned that the collection of personal data could result in the "infringement of fundamental human rights and freedoms" if it's abused.
In France, authorities have faced setbacks over privacy concerns since the pandemic began. Last summer, the Parisian transport authority suspended an effort that monitored whether Metro riders were wearing masks, using camera-equipped AI technology. France's privacy watchdog had criticized the experiment, arguing that it risked "a feeling of general surveillance among citizens" that could "undermine the proper functioning of our democratic society."
Even though the cameras had been installed for experimental purposes and were not used to impose fines, the watchdog objected to the absence of a way for people to opt out of the footage.
The watchdog's ruling on drones is based on similar concerns.
It means that officials also no longer will be allowed to use drones to monitor protesters until the watchdog's concerns have been resolved -- a stance that could put the authority in direct opposition with a government proposal to expand their use. The proposal is part of a broader draft security bill that has been fiercely debated in France in recent weeks, with critics viewing it as a serious threat to civil liberties.
The draft bill, given the initial green light in the French National Assembly last year, is set to be discussed in the French Senate later this month.