London police to start using live facial recognition
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London’s police force will start using live facial recognition on the capital’s streets, ignoring concerns from politicians, data regulators and human rights groups over the highly invasive and often inaccurate biometric technology.
The Metropolitan Police Service said standalone cameras would scan passers-by, searching for people suspected of serious crimes such as knife attacks and child sexual exploitation.
CNN says “the decision follows an October investigation into live facial recognition technology by the UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office, which raised serious concerns over privacy and accuracy. It flagged evidence that the technology discriminates against women and people of color — an issue that’s been documented by Federal researchers in the United States, where several cities have banned use of the technology.
Financial Times reports also points to the fact that the decision follows last week’s announcement by the European Commission that it was considering banning facial recognition technology across the bloc for five years while policymakers create a regulatory framework. German police were the only known European forces to push ahead with plans to use the technology but they have since backtracked.
“As a modern police force, I believe that we have a duty to use new technologies to keep people safe in London,” assistant commissioner Nick Ephgrave said in a statement as reported by CNN.
“We are using a tried-and-tested technology. Similar technology is already widely used across the UK, in the private sector,” he added. The technology, which is made by Japanese company NEC, is a standalone system not linked to any other imaging system, such as closed-circuit television, body worn video or automatic number plate recognition, the Met said.
