The authorities’ initiative received 54 votes. However, 60 votes would have been necessary to support the initiative in the form of a general suggestion. The business is therefore concluded.
The authorities’ initiative wanted to change cantonal legislation so that biometric facial recognition would be banned in all publicly accessible places. Only authorities, and never private individuals, should have been allowed to use this technology on individual, non-consecutive days only upon a court order. Every operation should have been announced promptly via a media release.
“Too restrictive”
The bourgeois majority was against it. “We are against technology bans,” said Roman Schmid (SVP, Opfikon). And: “We will not develop into a totalitarian state because we allow biometric facial recognition.”
The authorities’ initiative is far too restrictive, said Dieter Kläy (FDP, Winterthur). It is less a clear signal than a diffuse noise from Winterthur, said Gabriel Mäder (GLP, Adliswil). Tina Deplazes (center, Hinwil) said the initiative would slow down technological development.
It goes far beyond the target, said Markus Schaaf (EVP, Zell). Such regulation does not make the canton freer, but rather more vulnerable.
Council left for initiative
The council left supported the authorities’ initiative. For the SP, the “compromise” didn’t go far enough in some areas, as Leandra Columberg (SP, Dübendorf) said. But regulation is a “sensible step”.
The Greens “explicitly” support the initiative’s demands. The basic right to privacy would be undermined with biometric facial recognition and instead of significantly increasing security, such systems would have a deterrent effect, said Benjamin Krähenmann (Greens, Zurich)
Biometric facial recognition is not just another police technology. It changes the relationship between the state and the population, said Lisa Letnansky (AL, Zurich). These technological possibilities aroused desires that were not in line with fundamental rights.
