GLUKHIN v. RUSSIA JUDGMENT
interference, did not meet the “quality of law” requirement. They were too
vague and did not provide either for a prior judicial authorisation or for any
subsequent judicial control.
61. The applicant further submitted that the interference with his right to
respect for his private life had not pursued any legitimate aim and had not
been “necessary in a democratic society”. His private life had been interfered
with for the sole reason that he had held a peaceful solo demonstration.
62. The Government submitted that the applicant had committed an
administrative offence and that all the measures taken against him by the
police had been lawful and justified. His name was not included in any list of
wanted persons. The measures taken against the applicant had had a legal
basis (see summary of the legislation referred to in paragraphs 33-34 above).
63. The third-party intervener Article 19 submitted that facial recognition
technology was to be used with the utmost caution and was to be attended by
adequate legal safeguards. They argued that biometric mass surveillance, in
particular with the use of facial recognition technology, represented one of
the greatest threats to fundamental rights in the digital age. It threatened the
right to privacy and anonymity and had a strong chilling effect on the rights
to freedom of expression and assembly. The awareness of being watched and
tracked might discourage people from exercising their right to protest and
from freely expressing their opinion in public spaces.
2. The Court’s assessment
(a) Existence of an interference
(i) General principles
64. The Court reiterates that the concept of “private life” is a broad term
not susceptible to exhaustive definition. It can embrace multiple aspects of
the person’s physical and social identity. It is not limited to an “inner circle”
in which the individual may live his or her own personal life without outside
interference, but also encompasses the right to lead a “private social life”, that
is, the possibility of establishing and developing relationships with others and
the outside world. It does not exclude activities taking place in a public
context. There is thus a zone of interaction of a person with others, even in a
public context, which may fall within the scope of “private life” (see
López Ribalda and Others v. Spain [GC], nos. 1874/13 and 8567/13, §§ 8788, 17 October 2019).
65. The mere storing of data relating to the private life of an individual
amounts to an interference within the meaning of Article 8. The subsequent
use of the stored information has no bearing on that finding. However, in
determining whether the personal information retained by the authorities
involves any of the private-life aspects mentioned above, the Court will have
due regard to the specific context in which the information at issue has been
recorded and retained, the nature of the records, the way in which these
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