From EPIC.org:
On December 17th, EPIC filed comments with the Dutch data protection authority, Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens, regarding use of and prohibitions on emotion recognition surveillance. The EU AI Act prohibits the development, deployment, and placement on the EU market of emotion recognition systems intended for use in the workplace and in educational institutions, with limited exceptions where the algorithm is intended for certain medical or safety reasons. Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens opened a consultation requesting feedback on the implementation of this prohibition.
EPIC’s comments discuss some of the common types of emotion recognition, the harms of emotion recognition systems and their inefficacy, common uses and risks in the education and workplace settings, and recommendations. EPIC urges Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens to define emotion recognition systems broadly and either allow for no exemptions or construe the medical and safety exemption narrowly. This recommendation is based the complete lack of scientific evidence that these systems work and the many ways they violate the rights to privacy, data protection, freedom from discrimination, and various other rights enshrined in the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights and other EU regulations.
Read more at EPIC.org.