Civil society open letter on the proposed French law on the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games

01-03-2023
The proposal would lead to invasive AI surveillance and is a step towards the normalisation of exceptional surveillance powers.
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Group of people on a street with surveillance cameras and the olympic circles in background

Article 7 of the proposed law on the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games paves the way for the use of invasive algorithm-driven video surveillance under the pretext of securing big events. Under this law, France would become the first EU member state to explicitly legalise such practices.

Download the full open letter

38 civil society organisations, led by ECNL, La Quadrature du Net and Amnesty International France, support our open letter highlighting that the proposed surveillance measures violate international human rights law and risk colliding with the future EU AI Act.

Signatories:

Access Now, Global

AlgoRace, Spain

AlgorithmWatch, Germany

AlgorithmWatch CH, Switzerland

Amnesty International, Global

ApTI, Romania

ARTICLE 19, Global

Association Nationale des Supporters, France

Big Brother Watch, UK

Bits of Freedom, The Netherlands

Centre for Democracy & Technology, Europe

Chaos Computer Club Lëtzebuerg, Luxembourg

Citizen D / Državljan D, Slovenia

Civil Liberties Union for Europe, Europe

Deutsche Vereinigung für Datenschutz e.V. (DVD), Germany

Digitalcourage e.V., Germany

Digitale Gesellschaft, Switzerland

Digitale Freiheit e.V., Germany

Elektronisk Forpost Norge, Norway

Eticas Tech, Spain

European Center for Not-for-Profit Law Stichting (ECNL), Europe

European Digital Rights, Europe

Fair Trials, Global

​​Forum Civique Européen, France/Europe​     ​​

​​Football Supporters Europe, Europe

​Homo Digitalis, Greece​

Human Rights Watch, International

Irish Council for Civil Liberties, Ireland

IT-Pol, Denmark

Iuridicum Remedium, Czech Republic

Liberty, UK

Panoptykon Foundation, Poland

Privacy International, Global

Privacy Network, Italy

Share Foundation, Serbia

Society Vrijbit, The Netherlands

​​Statewatch, Europe​

Today is a new day / Danes je nov dan, Slovenia

Download the full open letter

The open letter is also being covered by the following outlets:

  • Le Monde Op-ed:The algorithmic video surveillance measures introduced by the OJ 2024 law are contrary to international law
  • Politico French surveillance system for Olympics moves forward, despite civil rights campaign 
  • Al Jazeera French plans for AI surveillance during Olympics are dangerous
  • Human Rights Watch France: Reject Surveillance in Olympic Games Law
  • Center for Democracy and Technology CDT Joins Letter on the Proposed French Law on the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games
  • Civic Space Watch FRANCE: Plagued by mass protests and new AI surveillance law  
  • Jacobin Emmanuel Macron Is Using the 2024 Olympics to Make France a Surveillance State

 

Update as of March 23:

The French Parliament passed the law on March 23. It only shortened the period during which video surveillance can be used: to December 2024, as opposed to July 2025 in the previous versions.