Politicians and campaigners call for scrapping of live facial recognition surveillance
Privacy campaigners and MPs from several parties have called for police and private companies to “immediately stop” using live facial recognition surveillance in public spaces.
In an open letter published by campaigning group Big Brother Watch, signatories including shadow home secretary Diane Abbott cite “serious concerns” about the technology’s “incompatibility with human rights” and “lack of safeguards”.
Read more: Court throws out privacy challenge to facial recognition technology in landmark ruling
Live facial recognition allows faces captured via CCTV surveillance to be checked against watch lists in real time, but campaigners have argued that the technology infringes on privacy rights.
Former Brexit secretary David Davis, Liberal Democrat leader Jo Swinson, and Green MP Caroline Lucas are among the other politicians to put their names to the letter. Technology and human rights organisations including Amnesty International and the Ada Lovelace Institute also signed.
The letter says the signatories “hold differing views about live facial recognition surveillance”, but are united in their call for the technology to be abandoned.
Davis said police use of facial recognition “is potentially a serious invasion of individual privacy and civil liberties”, adding: “We need a proper legal framework fit for these emerging technologies to balance policing effectiveness and privacy.”
“There must be an immediate halt to the use of these systems to give Parliament the chance to debate it properly and establish proper rules for the police to follow,” Davis said.
Read more: King’s Cross ditches facial recognition technology after watchdog savaged plans
The King’s Cross development defended its use of facial recognition technology last month, saying the cameras were used “in the interest of public safety”. The site then ditched plans to reintroduce the technology.
Big Brother Watch said it estimates that “tens of millions” of people have been scanned using the technology in the UK without their knowledge.
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