In the streets of Belgrade, thousands of cameras provided by China observe the Serbs
In a Belgrade cafe (photo illustration).
AP - Darko Vojinovic
Text by: Laurent Rouy
3 min
The project is called “safe city” and worries Europeans.
The city of Belgrade is increasingly acquiring high-tech surveillance cameras, equipped with facial recognition technology provided by China.
It is the only city on the European continent to have this system.
Publicity
Read more
From our correspondent in Belgrade
,
The Serbian government is actively developing the "safe city" project in Belgrade, which includes the rapid installation of surveillance cameras absolutely everywhere in the city.
The cameras, supplied by the Chinese manufacturer Huawei, are equipped with facial recognition technology, a system allowing to recognize a person already widely installed in China where it is used to ensure social control of the population.
The situation worries the European Parliament, as recently explained by the French MEP Gwendoline Delbos-Corfield, who also affirms that Chinese technicians work in the Serbian administration to operate this surveillance network, part of which would have even been provided free of charge by China, as part of its “New Digital Silk Roads” project.
Concern of digital rights NGOs
It all started in 2019, when cameras began to appear at the city's main crossroads.
Today, 1,000 cameras have been listed by the
NGO Share
, which documents violations of the digital rights of citizens.
For its president, Danilo Krivokapic, the situation is unjustifiable.
Belgrade is already a safe city and the installation of surveillance cameras is unnecessary.
Above all, the law in Serbia does not regulate digital facial recognition, leaving the field open to all abuses.
Mass surveillance in progress
Today, the authorities claim that this facial recognition software is not used by the police, even if they recognize it to exist.
But no further details are filtering out, the government is turning a deaf ear and there is no public debate on the issue.
Above all, Share would have obtained the information that 6,000 additional cameras must be installed, while the Mediator of the Republic has also sounded the alarm, without eliciting any reaction from the Ministry of the Interior or the government.
► For more information
, the site
Thousands of cameras
Newsletter
Receive all international news directly in your mailbox
I subscribe
Follow all the international news by downloading the RFI application
google-play-badge_FR
Serbia
Internet
Technologies
our selection
On the same subject
BALKAN PRESS REVIEW
In the spotlight: thanks to China, Serbia vaccinates with all the power
China invites four EU ministers to try to close ranks
Balkan press review
In the spotlight: in the Balkans, China invests and pollutes (a lot)