In 2019, BKA provided photographs to the Institute of Graphic Data Processing named after. Fraunhofer. This was done to test how reliably the four software makers’ algorithms could recognize faces. In reality, the photographs were only intended for police work. For this purpose, the department received access to the central police information system INPOL-Z.
Federal Data Protection Commissioner Ulrich Kelber criticized the police actions, calling them “problematic.” He called for amendments to the law to provide legal certainty and transparency regarding such tests.
Mark Zeller, professor of criminal law and digitalization at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, also criticized the BKA for using new technologies before a clear legal basis is in place.
According to radio station Bayrisches Rundfunk, internal documents showed that BKA informed the Federal Data Protection Commissioner with only few details and a time delay. Kelber received the final report a year and a half after the completion of the project. Only after this did it become clear that real photographs were used for verification.
