Ivan Medojević, director of the Agency for the Protection of Personal Data and Free Access to Information, said that all irregularities have been eliminated when it comes to video surveillance in Podgorica, Budva and Bar, and that the question for the Ministry of Internal Affairs is why that system was not officially released in work.
As one of the earlier irregularities, he stated that the camera on Independence Square was so clear and precise that "it could see the dining room in the apartments in the buildings located on the square." "It was rotatable, it could look at everything - from the balcony to the interior of the apartment," said Medojević.
Medojević said that the MUP advertising video, which shows that the new technology recognizes the faces of pedestrians on the streets and connects them with their personal documents, "rightly scared" the citizens.
"We don't know if the system will work that way, it's a commercial. But, if you have the fact that that software solution will recognize faces, we come to the question of whether we come to biometrics, which is very controversial. Several protocols in the European Parliament are adopted, especially in relation to artificial intelligence, that the law on artificial intelligence prohibits mass processing through biometrics," he pointed out.
The most important thing, he emphasizes, is that there is no misuse of the data that will be collected. "If we have the technical equipment and protection of that data, then there are no problems. During the surveillance, we determined that they complied with all procedures. Access to the data is clear, there are codes, logging in, and at no time will it be possible for you not to know who accessed the device. A notice will have to be displayed at each location that that space is being recorded," said Medojević.
Radenko Lacmanović, an expert on the protection of personal data, said that he was concerned that the Ministry of Interior "is an institution in the country that violates the provisions of the Law on Protection of Personal Data in the grossest and most frequent way."
"You have as many examples as you want where the provisions of the law are massively violated by the MUP. I express my fear, due to previous experience, that there will be abuse", he said, and appealed to the AZLP to carry out supervision at the MUP as often as possible, not only upon report of citizens, but also on official duty.
Pavle Ćupić from the Civic Alliance said that security is of great importance and that this system can contribute to it, but that citizens' privacy must be taken into account.
"It is clear that there is a possibility for abuse," he said, recalling the investigations against police officers who shared information with criminal clans, the fact that the state published a list of covid patients... "This is a very sensitive topic, control must be on a much higher level," he concluded.
Bonus video:
