Big Brother Watch is backing a legal challenge brought by the group’s director Silkie Carlo and anti-knife crime campaigner Shaun Thompson who was wrongly flagged as a criminal by the Met Police’s use of live facial recognition cameras. The challenge argues that the Metropolitan Police’s use of live facial recognition is unlawful and breached Shaun’s privacy rights.
Silkie Carlo said: “The possibility of being subjected to a digital identity check by police without our consent almost anywhere, at any time, is a serious infringement on our civil liberties that is transforming London.
“When used as a mass surveillance tool, LFR reverses the presumption of innocence and destroys any notion of privacy in our capital.”
Ms Carlo also argued in the legal challenge that the Metropolitan Police’s use of live facial recognition breaches individuals’ rights to freedom of expression and freedom of assembly protected by Articles 10 and 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights because the excessively broad discretion afforded to officers has a chilling effect on individuals’ ability to protest.
On the eve of the hearing, the Home Secretary announcing a nation-wide massive expansion of live facial recognition.
“This legal challenge is a landmark step towards protecting the public against intrusive monitoring”, Ms Carlo stressed.
The Telegraph – Police in High Court battle over facial recognition cameras
BBC – Court told police facial recognition needs limits
Computer Weekly – Landmark legal challenge against police facial recognition begins