Germany proposes installing software to identify terrorist suspects

Germany's Interior Minister has proposed installing facial recognition software at train stations and airports in the country to identify terrorist suspects.

Speaking to the German newspaper “Sunday Image”, Minister Thomas de Maiziere stressed the importance of integrating facial recognition technology into security cameras at airports and train stations. According to him, if a terrorist suspect appears and is identified, the subject’s face will be displayed in the video system, thereby making it easier for security forces to investigate and track him down.

German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere. (Photo: European Commission).

Minister Thomas de Maiziere added that the decision to ban backpacks at major events could also be useful, but that this would depend on the security forces deployed at the event. He said that in the coming time, Germans will need to get used to increased security measures, such as strict control of personal access cards and more stringent security checks. These measures may cause some inconvenience, but they are not a restriction on personal freedom.

Germany has been on high alert after the Islamic State (IS) group claimed responsibility for two attacks in July, one on a train near Wuerzburg and the other on a music festival in Ansbach. Fearing further attacks, organizers of the world's largest beer festival Oktoberfest in Munich, Germany, have stepped up security, banning backpacks, setting up fences and strict checks at the festival gates./.

According to VOV