French court’s approval of Olympics AI surveillance plan fuels privacy concerns

Rights groups including Amnesty and Human Rights Watch call proposals ‘a dangerous precedent’ in open letter

France’s top constitutional court has sanctioned the controversial use of surveillance powered by artificial intelligence at next year’s Olympics in a blow to privacy campaigners.

The French court’s decision came two months after the national assembly approved laws allowing for the experimental use of high-tech surveillance in a bid to head off any trouble at the Games next summer, when 600,000 people are expected to attend.