British Transport Police extends facial recognition trial despite zero direct arrests
British Transport Police has extended its live facial recognition trial on the transport network even though the program has not led to any direct arrests. The decision to continue came despite that outcome, suggesting the force is using criteria other than arrests to justify the technology.
Why this matters: Zero arrests and the program keeps going. That tells you something about how these trials work. Once facial recognition is running, the bar to continue it is much lower than the bar to start it. Everyone passing through a station gets scanned whether they are a suspect or not. That is mass surveillance of ordinary people justified by potential future benefit. If the result that was supposed to prove the tool works has not materialized, the public deserves a clear answer on what success actually looks like here.
Who should care: Privacy officers · Cybersecurity · General readers · Policy
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