Civil liberty groups say the UK police's live facial recognition tech is 'intrusive' and 'indiscriminate' — but the UK government is promising more safeguards
Civil liberties groups in the UK are pushing back against police use of live facial recognition technology, calling it intrusive and indiscriminate. The UK government has responded by pledging additional safeguards rather than restricting the technology.
Why this matters: Live facial recognition does not wait for a crime. It scans everyone who walks past, compares their face to a watchlist, and flags matches in real time. That means innocent people are being checked by police without knowing it, without consent, and without having done anything wrong. Promising more safeguards is not the same as proving the technology is accurate or fair. The burden should be on the government to show this works and does not disproportionately flag certain groups, not on the public to trust it.
Who should care: Privacy officers · Cybersecurity · General readers · Policy
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