France set to roll out nationwide facial recognition ID programme

Macron’s government is pushing through plans to roll out an ID program, dubbed Alicem, in November, earlier than an initial Christmas target. The country’s data regulator says the program breaches the European rule of consent and a privacy group is challenging it in France’s highest administrative court. — AFP Relaxnews

France is poised to become the first European country to use facial recognition technology to give citizens a secure digital identity – whether they want it or not.

Saying it wants to make the state more efficient, President Emmanuel Macron’s government is pushing through plans to roll out an ID programme, dubbed Alicem, in November, earlier than an initial Christmas target. The country’s data regulator says the programme breaches the European rule of consent and a privacy group is challenging it in France’s highest administrative court. It took a hacker just over an hour to break into a "secure” government messaging app this year, raising concerns about the state’s security standards.