Czech Republic, Václav Havel Airport Prague
Czech Police
Automated face detection and identification cameras at Prague airport
PausedJournalismPAI-8D0E63BE
- Body
- Czech Police
- Country
- Czech Republic
- Area
- Václav Havel Airport Prague
- Technology
- Automated face detection and identification cameras at Prague airport
- Supplier
- Not stated in the source
- Status
- Paused
Use suspended, with no evidence it has ended. - Stage
- In use now
- Since
- June 2018
- Legal basis
- EU AI Act (Regulation (EU) 2024/1689), Article 5, and a 2025 amendment to the Police Act requiring prior written permission from the presiding judge of a High Court panel, according to Seznam Zprávy. The Office for Personal Data Protection found that the earlier processing was not based on explicit statutory authorisation, according to epravo.cz's summary of its 2025 annual report.
- Oversight
- Office for Personal Data Protection (ÚOOÚ); Prague High Court permit of 30 December 2025, which for an isolated system can last at most 12 months.
- Evidence
- Journalism
Named reporting by a reputable outlet - Source
- Seznam Zprávy, 25 February 2026
- Last checked
- Record code
PAI-8D0E63BE
Notes
Seznam Zprávy reported on 25 February 2026 that the Prague High Court (decision of 30 December 2025, published on 26 January 2026) had allowed the police's isolated facial-recognition camera system at the airport to operate again. The system has been switched off since 1 August 2025, and the police said a restart was being prepared and that the public would be told in advance; the article does not say it had resumed. Digitální svobody reported that the system, which it called the only officially running automatic face identification system in the country, was launched in June 2018 and was switched off because it did not comply with the EU Artificial Intelligence Act, whose ban on such use took effect on 2 February 2025. According to epravo.cz (12 February 2026), the permitted system compares faces captured at the airport with people in a police database in real time, in the area passengers enter after security or border checks, with cameras in the arrivals and departures halls serving a preventive function. The public version of the court decision omits the airport's name, the length of the permit and technical details of the cameras. The Office for Personal Data Protection's 2025 annual report, as summarised by epravo.cz, says the biometric data were deleted when the system was switched off.
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