The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) found the Metropolitan Police's live facial-recognition deployments unlawful because they fail necessity, proportionality and human-rights safeguards. The EHRC noted the technology can aid serious-crime prevention and public safety but said current Met policies do not meet legal standards. The EHRC highlighted conflicts with European Convention on Human Rights Articles 8, 10 and 11. The commission warned large-scale use amplifies harms from even low error rates, causing unnecessary police attention and deterring protest participation. Police officers have cited a deterrence benefit. The EHRC concluded LFR is high risk and should be strictly necessary and tightly safeguarded.
The law is clear: everyone has the right to privacy, to freedom of expression and to freedom of assembly. These rights are vital for any democratic society," he said. "As such, there must be clear rules which guarantee that live facial-recognition technology is used only where necessary, proportionate and constrained by appropriate safeguards. We believe that the Metropolitan Police's current policy falls short of this standard.
The EHRC added that the Met's current approach to LFR is incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights, specifically Articles 8 (right to privacy), 10 (freedom of expression) and 11 (freedom of assembly and association). It further highlighted how, when used on a large scale, even low error rates can affect a significant number of people by brining unnecessary and unwanted police attention, and warned that its use at protests could have a "chilling effect" on people's freedom of expression and assembly. Senior police officers from both the Met and South Wales Police have previously argued that a major benefit of facial-recognition technology is its "deterrence effect." The EHRC added that the "high risk" nature of LFR means it should only be used when strictly necessary and subject to safeguards.
The Metropolitan Police's use of live facial-recognition (LFR) technology is unlawful, according to UK equality watchdog, citing the need for deployments of the technology to be necessary, proportionate and respectful of human rights.
Collection
[
|
...
]