Second reading of the draft law amending the Police and Border Guard Act (670 SE)
Session: Fifteenth Riigikogu, sixth sitting, plenary sitting.
Date: 2025-09-24 18:36
Participating Politicians:
Total Speeches: 46
Membership: 15
Agenda Duration: 1h 9m
AI Summaries: 46/46 Speeches (100.0%)
Analysis: Structured Analysis
Politicians Speaking Time
Politicians
Analysis
Summary
The agenda focused on the second reading of Draft Act 670 on supplementing the Police and Border Guard Act, initiated by Riigikogu members Peeter Tali, Ando Kiviberg, Anti Haugas, and Mati Raidma. Madis Timpson, Chairman of the Legal Affairs Committee, presented a report, explaining that the purpose of the draft act is to create a clear legal basis for the license plate recognition camera system, as the previous practice of the PPA (Police and Border Guard Board) was, according to the assessments of the Chancellor of Justice and the Data Protection Inspectorate, in conflict with the constitution. The committee discussed one amendment proposal submitted by the Government of the Republic, which received approval from all involved institutions. Questions arose during the debate regarding the unlimited number of cameras, the identification of facial images, and access to the data (including by the Tax and Customs Board). The opposition (EKRE, Center Party) sharply criticized the draft act, considering it a step towards a surveillance society and emphasizing the PPA’s previous illegal activity in data collection. Varro Vooglaid shared his experience regarding the PPA’s refusal to release processed images. The Center Party faction proposed interrupting the second reading, but this motion did not find support (12 in favor, 50 against). The leading committee proposed concluding the second reading and holding the final vote on October 8, 2025.
Decisions Made 4
The Committee on Legal Affairs proposed adding the draft bill to the plenary session agenda on September 24, 2025 (7 in favor, 2 against).
The Legal Affairs Committee proposed concluding the second reading of the bill (7 votes in favor, 2 against).
The Legal Affairs Committee proposed holding the final vote on the draft bill on October 8, 2025 (7 in favor, 2 against).
The Estonian Centre Party faction's proposal to suspend the second reading of Draft Bill 670 did not receive support (12 votes in favor, 50 against).
Most Active Speaker
Varro Vooglaid (EKRE) was an active opponent of the bill, delivering two long speeches (one on behalf of the faction and the other personal). In these speeches, he criticized the system on a conceptual level, viewing it as a step towards a surveillance society. He also shared his experience regarding the Police and Border Guard Board's (PPA) refusal to release images that they had processed. His position is right-wing/conservative.
Aseesimees Toomas Kivimägi
AI Summary
This announcement concerns the third item on the agenda, which is the second reading of Draft Act 670 on the Supplementation of the Police and Border Guard Act. We now invite the presentation by Madis Timpson, Chairman of the Legal Affairs Committee.
Madis Timpson
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Madis Timpson provided a comprehensive overview of the work done by the Legal Affairs Committee on the license plate recognition camera bill. This bill was initiated after the Minister of the Interior had halted the system's imagery due to legal issues. Following extensive discussions and the involvement of key institutions (including the Chancellor of Justice, the Ministry of Justice, and the Data Protection Inspectorate), a single major amendment proposal was formulated. This proposal successfully resolved the legal bottlenecks and received the approval of all involved parties. The Committee also debated conceptual questions regarding the system, the limits on the value of damages, and the placement of the cameras. Consequently, the Committee decided to conclude the second reading of the bill in its amended form (with voting results of 7 in favor and 2 against) and send it to the final vote.
Madis Timpson
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
The Committee adopted one amendment, which modifies the wording of eight paragraphs, and decided to place the draft bill on the plenary agenda on September 24, 2025, conclude the second reading, and hold the final vote on October 8, 2025.
Aseesimees Toomas Kivimägi
AI Summary
The address is a vote of thanks, which states that there are questions, and calls upon Priit Sibul to respond.
Priit Sibul
Profiling Isamaa fraktsioonAI Summary
Priit Sibul stresses that while it was initially claimed in the draft bill that license plate recognition cameras would not capture faces, it later emerged that faces can indeed be seen. He is now asking what the most reliable information is regarding what these cameras can actually provide beyond the license plate itself, and what they cannot.
Priit Sibul
Profiling Isamaa fraktsioonAI Summary
Priit Sibul highlights the contradictory information regarding the capabilities of license plate recognition (LPR) cameras, questioning whether they can identify faces in addition to license plates, given that the police's initial assurance that face recognition is not possible has been called into question following a later statement made by a colleague. He requests clarification on what the actual, most accurate information is regarding the data collected by these cameras.
Madis Timpson
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Madis Timpson referred to the topic presented by his colleague Vooglaid in the committee, where Vooglaid showed photographs with blurred faces of the person sitting in his car. Although Vooglaid himself thought the individual was him, the speaker's knowledge was limited solely to the fact that the faces had been blurred.
Madis Timpson
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Madis Timpson notes that colleague Vooglaid addressed the subject during the commission meeting. Pictures were shown where the faces were blurred. Maybe it was him sitting in the car, and Vooglaid said that it probably was him, but all I know is that the faces are blurred.
Aseesimees Toomas Kivimägi
AI Summary
He/She asks for Anastassia Kovalenko-Kõlvart to be called forward.
Anastassia Kovalenko-Kõlvart
Profiling Eesti Keskerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Anastassia Kovalenko-Kõlvart asks why the law does not permit the automatic blurring of faces and why the images remain visible with faces present, and how large the circle of officials is who are authorized to view this data, considering the access granted to the Tax and Customs Board, and whether that number is still 1,400.
Anastassia Kovalenko-Kõlvart
Profiling Eesti Keskerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Anastassia Kovalenko-Kõlvart is raising the question of why faces are not automatically blurred in the images submitted to the police, which results in people being clearly visible next to vehicles. She is also demanding clarification regarding how many officials, including employees of the Tax and Customs Board, will have access to this sensitive data, citing the previous restriction that limited access to 1,400 officials.
Madis Timpson
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Madis Timpson said that the employees of the Tax and Customs Board returned, and this was also included in the initial draft version. The figures for these people were not discussed in the committee, and therefore your order of magnitude is probably correct.
Madis Timpson
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Madis Timpson confirmed that the employees of the Tax and Customs Board have been added back to the draft bill, as they were in the Ministry of the Interior's initial version, and agreed that although specific figures were not addressed in the committee, the previously mentioned order of magnitude is likely correct.
Toomas Kivimägi
Profiling Eesti Reformierakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Toomas Kivimägi thanks the audience, closes the Q&A session, and opens the floor for discussions, subsequently turning his attention to Maria Jufereva-Skuratovski.
Maria Jufereva-Skuratovski
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Maria Jufereva-Skuratovski is presenting the draft amendment to the Police and Border Guard Act, the goal of which is to establish a clear and constitutionally sound legal basis for the use of license plate recognition cameras. She emphasized that this balanced solution provides the police with the necessary tools for preventing and solving crimes, while simultaneously ensuring the data protection and security of individuals through strict limitations and a short retention period.
Maria Jufereva-Skuratovski
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Maria Jufereva-Skuratovski said that the draft bill sets precisely regulated frameworks for license plate recognition cameras, increases transparency and security, specifies how long the data will be stored (up to 45 days) and who has access to the data and under what conditions, and clearly limits mass surveillance, thereby increasing people's trust in state institutions.
Aseesimees Toomas Kivimägi
AI Summary
Toomas Kivimägi expressed his thanks and stated that Maria Jufereva-Skuratovski’s speech reflects the position of the Estonian Reform Party faction, and he relies on the mandate that the faction submitted to the presiding officer; Varro Vooglaid, you have the floor.
Aseesimees Toomas Kivimägi
AI Summary
Deputy Speaker Toomas Kivimägi thanked the audience, formally clarified that Maria Jufereva-Skuratovski’s previous address represented the Estonian Reform Party faction, based on the authorization submitted, and invited the next speaker, Varro Vooglaid, to the rostrum.
Varro Vooglaid
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Varro Vooglaid emphasizes that the extensive license plate recognition camera system, which the Police and Border Guard Board (PPA) has built up over years without any legal basis and which massively collects data on all citizens, is an example of a broader problem: nobody is held accountable for errors or legal violations committed while exercising state power. Instead of identifying those responsible, there is an attempt to retroactively legalize this illegal practice in parliament. This is a fundamentally wrong approach that undermines the rule of law and the principle of data minimization, thereby jeopardizing freedom in the name of security.
Varro Vooglaid
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Varro Vooglaid emphasized that the license plate recognition camera system widely used in Estonia lacks a legal basis, violates the principle of data collection minimization and constitutional rights, and Parliament must not legalize the controversial activities of state power in the name of security.
Aseesimees Toomas Kivimägi
AI Summary
The speech addresses a three-minute period.
Varro Vooglaid
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Varro Vooglaid claims that the widespread use of facial recognition cameras and databases threatens the inviolability of private life and makes society concentration camp-like, which is why he does not support the bill.
Varro Vooglaid
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Varro Vooglaid expresses his opposition to the draft bill, which would grant the police unlimited authority to install facial recognition surveillance cameras. He fears that this will lead society toward total surveillance, or the "great concentration camp," because the bill lacks both restrictions on the number of cameras and independent oversight of the threat assessments compiled by the police. Therefore, the bill should be rejected to protect the inviolability of private life, even though other European countries utilize similar solutions.
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
Vice-Chairman Arvo Aller announced a minor technical malfunction, asked if the voting consoles were working, and called a ten-minute recess.
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
Deputy Speaker Arvo Aller announced the end of the recess, performed a brief technical reset, asked the members of the Riigikogu to take their seats and insert their cards into the consoles, and announced that the debates would continue. The next speaker is Anastassia Kovalenko-Kõlvart, who requested three additional minutes.
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
Deputy Speaker Arvo Aller announced that the 10-minute technical recess had ended. He requested that the Riigikogu members register at their desks so the sitting could resume, and then gave the floor to Anastassia Kovalenko-Kõlvart to continue the debate. She had been allocated three minutes of additional time.
Anastassia Kovalenko-Kõlvart
Profiling Eesti Keskerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Anastassia Kovalenko-Kõlvart sharply criticizes the draft bill, which seeks to retroactively legalize a license plate recognition camera system that has operated secretly and without analysis for ten years, collecting millions of people's data without the government's knowledge. She stresses that the flawed bill grants unlimited permission to expand surveillance and provides access to 1,400 officials, thereby violating fundamental rights and freedoms. Consequently, she proposes suspending the second reading of the draft bill.
Anastassia Kovalenko-Kõlvart
Profiling Eesti Keskerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Anastassia Kovalenko-Kõlvart criticizes the draft legislation, which permits the unlimited installation of cameras and extensive access by officials to people's data. She emphasizes the insufficient public debate and the absence of risk analyses, and requests the suspension of the bill's second reading in order to protect fundamental human rights.
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
The Deputy Chairman offered his thanks and invited Andre Hanimägi to speak next.
Andre Hanimägi
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Andre Hanimägi stresses that the draft legislation concerning the license plate recognition system has secured the support of both the Chancellor of Justice and the Data Protection Inspectorate after a compromise was reached, confirming that it does not include facial recognition or AI. He defends the necessity of the system, pointing out that it is an extremely crucial tool for the Police and Border Guard Board in solving serious crimes. Furthermore, he argues that the infringement on personal liberties is minimal—non-personalized data is deleted quickly—and therefore the benefits of ensuring security clearly outweigh [the potential harm], dismissing claims about the creation of a surveillance society.
Andre Hanimägi
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
According to Andre Hanimägi, the draft bill is constitutional, does not include AI or facial recognition, and offers limited, non-personalized number identification, which must be used responsibly and is subject to regular reporting and oversight.
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
He wants one more minute.
Andre Hanimägi
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Andre Hanimägi stated that ensuring a safe society requires a carefully considered solution—a license plate recognition system—one that does not infringe upon personal or fundamental freedoms, but provides the police with an essential tool for guaranteeing public safety. He also urged people to think rationally about the kind of society we desire.
Andre Hanimägi
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Andre Hanimägi emphasizes that the desire to create a secure society is at odds with the opposition to measures infringing upon personal freedoms, and proposes, as a rational solution, a number identification system that would provide the police with a crucial tool for solving crimes without unduly infringing upon citizens' fundamental rights, urging that we avoid a situation where the police have their hands tied.
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
Thank you. Next, we have Kalle Grünthal, and the speaker is requesting three minutes of extra time.
Kalle Grünthal
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Grünthal claims that the draft bill allows for widespread surveillance via license plate recognition cameras and the collection of covert data, which, in his view, constitutes illegal intelligence gathering and endangers constitutional privacy protection, effectively turning traffic into a digital concentration camp.
Kalle Grünthal
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Kalle Grünthal calls the widespread and covert use of license plate recognition cameras an endorsement of a digital concentration camp, accusing the authorities of illegal surveillance and the hidden collection of information (Penal Code § 315). This is due to the lack of a clear legal norm and the failure to comply with the Law Enforcement Act's requirement for prior public notification regarding video surveillance, which directly violates individuals' constitutional rights to privacy.
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
The Deputy Chairman offered his thanks and then invited Varro Vooglaid to the stage next.
Varro Vooglaid
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Varro Vooglaid shared his personal experience checking the scope of data collection used by the PPA's license plate recognition camera system. He requested all photos taken of his car, citing the Personal Data Protection Act, but the PPA repeatedly refused to release them in raw format, instead hiding both the driver and the camera location with extensive black redaction boxes. This happened despite his logical objections and his confirmation that he was the sole driver. Ultimately, it was revealed through the media that the PPA had actually deleted the pictures entirely, thereby obstructing access to the data.
Varro Vooglaid
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Varro Vooglaid describes how he applied, citing personal data protection laws, for all unprocessed images captured by his vehicle's license plate recognition cameras. However, the PPA (Police and Border Guard Board) only provided two images, which were followed by 95 processed images where the driver and the car's surroundings had been obscured, and after the story was covered by Aktuaalne Kaamera, it was revealed that the images had been deleted.
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
Deputy Speaker Arvo Aller requests that three minutes be added.
Varro Vooglaid
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Varro Vooglaid, as a member of the Riigikogu Legal Affairs Committee, sharply criticized the actions of the Police and Border Guard Board (PPA), which refused to issue him photos taken of him by license plate recognition cameras, initially citing the need to obscure personal data and later claiming the photos had been deleted due to the expiration of the three-month retention period. He believes that the PPA acted in bad faith, deliberately concealing information to avoid proving that individuals are clearly recognizable in the images, which would have exposed the PPA's previous inaccurate statements. He emphasizes that such widespread data collection is a clear sign of a surveillance society, meaning police activity must be strictly bound by current law.
Varro Vooglaid
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Varro Vooglaid accuses the PPA of a lack of good faith conduct and concealing personal data, claiming that he was not handed over the photos taken of me, and arguing that this proves the existence of a surveillance society. He also stresses the need for the police to be restricted by existing law.
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
Arvo Aller concluded negotiations, announced the review of one amendment proposal, and stated his intention to put to a vote the Estonian Centre Party faction's proposal to suspend the second reading of draft bill 670, concerning the act supplementing the Police and Border Guard Act.
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
Deputy Chairman Arvo Aller informed that since the proposal failed to find support in the Riigikogu, it was voted down with 12 votes in favor and 50 votes against, whereupon the second reading of Draft Act 670 and the discussion of today's third item on the agenda were declared concluded.
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
The Riigikogu voted on Bill 670: 12 in favor, 50 against, and 0 abstentions. The proposal failed to gain support, and consequently, the second reading of the bill and today's third item on the agenda were concluded.