Police Scotland plan to introduce live facial recognition technology raises questions about privacy, public interest and individual rights
Holmes Mackillop director and Head of Corporate Ralph Riddiough says that Police Scotland’s plan to introduce live facial recognition technology raises questions about privacy, public interest and individual rights.
Last week Deputy Chief Constable Jane Connors told the Scottish Police Authority that the force will move ahead with the work around live facial recognition, which has faced criticism from rights and equalities groups due to its impact on privacy, freedom of expression and its alleged racial and gender biases.
Live facial recognition has been used by police forces in England and Wales and has been subject to several legal challenges. In 2019, the Court of Appeal found that South Wales Police’s use of live facial recognition technology was unlawful and had violated human rights, equalities and data protection law.
Riddiough said that, given the difficulties faced by other police forces in the UK, Police Scotland will have to navigate the realms of data protection law, human rights law and the Equality Act.
“Weaknesses in the technology must be addressed and presumably will be in due course,” he said. “Those aside, this feels like an area where there needs to be a public discussion around privacy, first and foremost, so that public interests can be balanced against individual rights.”
Riddiough suggested that this is an area that may require legislation.
“Data protection law already focuses on lawfulness, fairness and proportionality, so it would appear that the door is open to this technology if it is used in a reasonable way,” he said.
“Even with legislation and guidance, it can be difficult for public bodies to get this balance right. Given the political challenges around identity cards, it seem likely that we have a long way to go before society is ready to accept widespread use of facial recognition technology.”
ENDS
For further information please contact on Ralph Riddiough on tel 0141 226 4942