November 1, 2025
Face-off at Prague Airport
Czech police forced to turn off facial recognition cameras at the Prague airport
Big Brother grounded: privacy cheers, safety fears at Prague’s airport
TLDR: Czech police shut down face-recognition at Prague’s airport after EU rules and a watchdog said it broke the law. Commenters split: privacy advocates celebrate a win, while others argue it hurts crime-fighting and don’t trust police to stop using other massive photo databases.
Prague’s main airport just flipped the off-switch on its face-scanning cameras after watchdogs said the police were breaking the rules—and the comments are a full-on privacy vs. safety showdown. One camp is popping champagne, with users like hacka22 calling it “great news” and wondering if this sets off a domino effect across Europe. Others aren’t buying the rebrand-from-surveillance-to-safety. Ziomislaw drops the mic with: pinky promise is not enough, accusing police of acting above the law and warning they’ll “always abuse such systems.”
Cue the humor: aerostable_slug jokes that spies will now flock to Prague because the cameras are off—“clandestine operatives pivot to Czechia” became the day’s meme. Meanwhile, FridayoLeary brings the reality check: they thought face checks were standard at airports and argues it’s legit for catching criminals, citing a UK border guard who said faces get scanned on exit.
Behind the drama: the system ran from 2018 to August 2025, but was illegal once the EU AI Act kicked in, requiring a judge’s sign-off—never provided. Activists like IuRe pushed for years, and the data authority confirmed violations. Yet the police still use another tool with 20 million ID photos, which critics say could be used to track protestors. The comment mood? Trust issues 101, mixed with gallows humor, and a loud call for real rules, not vibes, as EDRi and local activists keep the pressure on.
Key Points
- •Czech Police shut down facial recognition cameras at Prague’s Václav Havel Airport in August 2025 after regulatory scrutiny.
- •The Czech DPA confirmed legal violations in the airport system’s processing of biometric data following a complaint by NGO IuRe.
- •AI Act provisions effective February 2025 required judicial approval for each use; the airport deployment lacked such approval and was thus illegal Feb–Aug 2025.
- •A nearly four-year DPA inspection concluded police need clear, legally grounded guidelines for biometric data processing, noting gaps in national law versus European requirements.
- •Another police tool, the Digital Personal Image Information System with ~20 million ID/passport photos, was also flagged as legally problematic for potential misuse in identifying individuals.