Slovakia plans AI surveillance cameras in 3,000 schools by end of 2026
Slovakia's Interior Ministry plans to deploy AI-powered surveillance cameras in approximately 3,000 schools by late 2026 to detect risky behaviour. Civil society organizations warned the system could violate EU AI Act rules on biometric identification and GDPR data protection requirements, potentially exposing the state to significant fines.
What happened
The Slovak Ministry of Interior plans to install AI-powered camera systems in approximately 3,000 schools by the end of 2026. The system would use artificial intelligence to evaluate risky behaviour and report it to an operations centre.
In September 2024, Interior Minister Matúš Šutaj Eštok announced that three pilot schools would receive the cameras in 2024. The Ministry has committed to conducting a comprehensive legislative analysis to verify compliance with privacy, personal data protection, and EU AI Act requirements.
Reported impact
The Slovak AI Association (ASAI) warned that real-time remote biometric identification using AI could constitute a prohibited practice under the EU AI Act, with potential fines up to €35 million or 7% of global annual turnover for both the state and the system provider.
The Data Protection Society (SOOÚ) raised concerns about the broad processing of personal data of students, teachers and school staff, questioning the necessity, scope and security of such processing under GDPR requirements.
Index analysis
ASAI stated the proposed camera systems raise fundamental questions about compliance with privacy protection legislation, personal data protection rules and the EU AI Act. The association recommended conducting an in-depth analysis.
SOOÚ noted that the system poses high-risk operations under the EU AI Act and that experts in data protection recommend considering less invasive alternatives that could effectively contribute to school security goals without such broad surveillance.
Governance controls
The Ministry of Interior stated that findings from the planned comprehensive legislative analysis will be rigorously implemented into the final form of the solution to ensure full legislative conformity.
The Ministry stated the system will comply with GDPR according to Interior Minister Šutaj Eštok.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.