Hungary’s facial recognition plan for pride events directly challenges EU’s AI Act

Hungary’s plan to use facial recognition at pride events directly challenges the EU’s AI Act, highlighting a growing tension between the Orbán government’s policies and European digital rights legislation. This development represents a significant test case for the newly implemented AI Act’s enforcement mechanisms, potentially setting precedent for how the EU will handle member states that attempt to deploy prohibited AI applications for controversial surveillance purposes.

The big picture: Viktor Orbán’s government has proposed amendments to Hungary’s Child Protection Act that would ban pride events and authorize police to use facial recognition to identify participants.

• The proposal explicitly contradicts the EU’s AI Act, which prohibits the use of real-time facial recognition systems in public spaces with very limited exceptions.
• The ban on prohibited AI practices officially entered into force on February 2, 2024, making this one of the first major challenges to the legislation.

Expert assessment: Dr. Laura Caroli, who negotiated EU AI rules for the European Parliament, confirmed that Hungary’s proposed facial recognition deployment is “actively prohibited by the EU AI Act.”

• Even if Hungary attempted to invoke national security exceptions or frame pride parades as threats, they would still violate Article 5 of the AI Act, which was specifically designed to prevent such abuses.
• The legislation intentionally limits member states’ ability to exploit loopholes for deploying live facial recognition technology.

Democratic concerns: The proposal has alarmed rights advocates and European officials who see it as part of broader democratic backsliding in Hungary.

• MEP Daniel Freund criticized the measure as resembling something “out of Russia or China” rather than an EU member state, calling for the EU to halt funding to “the Orbán regime.”
• The Hungarian Helsinki Committee warned the amendment would violate data protection rights not just for pride participants but for anyone recorded by police cameras during these events.

Enforcement challenges: Despite the clear prohibition, immediate prevention of these surveillance measures faces significant hurdles.

• Responsibility for enforcing the AI Act falls primarily to Hungarian data protection authorities, with potential intervention from other member states.
• Dr. Caroli acknowledged that proper enforcement will “require time,” creating a window where “these abuses can unfortunately still happen” despite being illegal under EU law.