UK (Commonwealth Union) – Civil liberties groups and privacy activist across the world have expressed concerns over facial recognition technology (FRT) with concerns over authoritarian overreach particularly against protestors as many are concerned that authorities may use it to demonetize or harass political opponents.
Researchers have created an inspection tool to test if police application of facial recognition leads to a threat to fundamental human rights, and analyzed 3 deployments of the technology by British forces, where all 3 did not adhere to “minimum ethical and legal standards”.
The study, conducted by the Minderoo Centre for Technology and Democracy at the University of Cambridge, produced the new audit tool to analyze “compliance with the law and national guidance” regarding factors that include privacy, equality, and freedom of expression and assembly. Based on the results that appeared in a new report, the experts are echoing calls for the prohibition on the police use of facial recognition in public spaces.
Evani Radiya-Dixit, the lead author of the report, a visiting fellow from the university’s Minderoo Centre said: “There is a lack of robust redress mechanisms for individuals and communities harmed by police deployments of the technology”, and further stated that to defend human rights and enhance accountability in ways technology is implemented, questions need to be asked on values embedded in technology.
The study focused on the construction of an audit tool based on existing legal guidelines, such as the UK’s Data Protection and Equality acts, together with conclusions from UK court cases and responses from civil society organizations and the Information Commissioner’s Office. The study’s findings of regulatory gaps and inability to reach minimum standards set out by the new audit toolkit, the researchers wrote of their backing calls for a “ban on police use of facial recognition in publicly accessible spaces”.
With growing calls across the world for outright bans or heavy regulation on FRT by privacy activists the new tool is likely to be examined across the world.
