Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/916779
maltatoday SUNDAY 17 DECEMBER 2017 News 5 MATTHEW VELLA PLANS for a system of facial recognition CCTV in places like Paceville might have to be scaled back, after data protection con- cerns were triggered by a Malta- Today report last week. The director of Safe City Malta, Joe Cuschieri, had to meet the Information and Data Protec- tion Commissioner to explain the plans for a Huawei-sponsored 'safe city' that can link up facial recognition CCTV cameras to identity databases. MaltaToday first reported that government company Safe City Malta was preparing to issue an order for the technological equip- ment of high definition CCTVs and prepare a proof-of-concept for areas like Paceville to be moni- tored by the advanced system. The system can recognise people as they enter an area monitored by the 'safe city' system, a concept that Chinese multinational Hua- wei is deploying in several cities worldwide and is also seeking an EU opening. But since then, the United Na- tions' High Commission for Hu- man Rights special rapporteur on privacy, Prof. Joseph Cannataci, has held a meeting with Cuschieri, to flag serious privacy concerns over the concept. "The article has generated un- necessary concern because one could easily arrive to the wrong conclusions based on what was said and written," Cuschieri has now said in a letter to MaltaToday (page 26), after having told this newspaper that the technology could be used for "nationwide de- ployment". In his letter, Cuschieri con- firmed that while it was possible to install video surveillance tech- nology with wide-scale biometric facial recognition, the operation would have to be in line with data protection and privacy laws. "For a proof-of-concept public CCTV operation to be put into practice, a stakeholder that will take the responsibility of carrying out video surveillance needs to be roped in to the project," Cuschieri said. Safe City Malta will act as the technology enabler, in collabo- ration with Huawei, but will not carry out video surveillance itself. Cuschieri said that the stake- holder that would carry out the surveillance is then obliged to carry out a Privacy Impact As- sessment, especially since public CCTV surveillance falls under the category of "high-risk data" be- cause of lack of consent from data subjects and the potential mass accumulation of data. Under EU General Data Pro- tection Regulations, the data processor would have significant obligations at law, which must be satisfied before any data process- ing operation can start. That means that any surveil- lance must guarantee data pro- tection not just when the system is in operation, but also in its design as a concept. "Even on a proof-of-concept basis, the final solution design according to the approved requirements of the planned operation must tick all the boxes from a data protec- tion and privacy standpoint," Cuschieri said. The coming months will see Safe City Malta commissioning the hardware and software, so that technical training at an engineer- ing level can follow. But once the company ropes in a "stakeholder" to carry out the video surveillance "In a local- ity such as Paceville", the process would have to start once all data protection guidelines and regula- tions are met. "Malta is a technologically ad- vanced nation. This project is a key opportunity for Malta to showcase how state-of-the-art video surveillance can be put to good use while fully meeting pri- vacy regulations and respecting human rights," Cuschieri said. Your last chance until 31 January 2018 at 12:30 www.centralbankmalta.org/maltese-lira These banknotes stopped being legal tender after 31 January 2008 when Malta adopted the euro. You are still in time to change Fifth Series Maltese Lira into euro until 31 January 2018 at 12:30. All notes are exchangeable at the Central Bank of Malta, Binja Ġlormu Cassar, St James's Counterguard, Valletta. For amounts in excess of Lm200, please call on (+356) 2550 3520/1 from 8:00 to 16:00 for assistance. YANNICK PACE The government's migrant inte- gration action plan, dubbed "Inte- gration = Belonging", is intended to act as a framework for "under- standing successful integration through the level of the migrants' own sense of belonging to Mal- tese society". The framework, intended to guide integration policy up until 2020, aims to facilitate integra- tion through: • An integration pro- gramme which could lead to ob- taining a permanent residence per- mit. The first part of the programme will see participants taught accred- ited Maltese and English language classes and a "basic cultural and societal orientation" module. In the programme's second phase, participants will follow a 100-hour course on the social, economic, cultural and democratic history and environment of Malta, with a specific focus on the constitution, laws and democratic values. • A case worker from the IU will "accompany and counsel" applicants through the process and will help migrants in drawing up a personal integration plan. • The framework will be overseen by a newly-set up In- tegration unit within the Human Rights and Integration Directorate. The unit will serve as the "main governmental coordinating body", and will follow migrants' progress. • Voluntary and main- stream classes will ensure that all applicants are treated the same, and that only those who are genu- inely interested in "belonging" in the local community enrol in the programme. • It will be open to all mi- grants, including asylum seekers whose request is being processed and residents in a closed centre. • "Cultural mediators" will be assisting migrants access information about integration programmes. An app will also be rolled out to provide up-to-date 24/7 "integration-related informa- tion". • A "pool of trained cul- tural mediators" is to be deployed as required in public services to help professionals and clients overcome language, cultural and other barriers. • "Befriend a migrant project" will attempt to facilitate migrants forming social networks through engaging with locals. • Better labour market access through issuance of em- ployment licences for the duration of the validity of refugee's protec- tion. • A Gozo integration hub will provide access to the pro- gramme's benefits to migrants liv- ing in Gozo. Government integration plan launched 'Safe City' facial recognition CCTV triggers privacy scare The Maltese government and Huawei signing an agreement for the €1.5 million investment in the Safe City project