Police may use AI for real-time facial recognition

The Riksdag voted in favour of the Government’s proposal to allow the Swedish Police Authority to use AI technology for real-time facial recognition.

The proposal means that the Police Authority will be able to use AI technology if absolutely necessary to locate or identify a specific person:

• who is suspected of being the victim of kidnapping, human trafficking or human exploitation or who is missing and suspected of being the victim of crime;
• if there is an imminent risk that the person will commit a serious crime that involves danger to another person’s life or physical security;  
• who is suspected on reasonable grounds of having committed a serious crime for which the scale of penalties includes imprisonment for four years or more or where such a penalty may be involved for attempting, preparation or conspiracy to commit such a crime, with the purpose of investigating or bringing the crime to trial
• who has been sentenced for such a serious crime, with the purpose of implementing the penalty.

The use of the technology should be proportional and will require a permit from a prosecutor or court. In urgent cases, however, it will be possible to start to use such technology without a permit, but a permit must be applied for within 24 hours.  

The new act and other amendments will come into force on 1 July 2026.

Committee report (In Swedish):

Polisen ska få använda AI för ansiktsigenkänning i realtid (JuU28)