Commenting on the Government’s response to facial recognition public consultation, Big Brother Watch’s Senior Advocacy Officer Jasleen Chaggar said:
“The public have spoken loud and clear in the consultation, raising the alarm that facial recognition erodes our freedoms and privacy and is turning Britain into a surveillance state. It is totally inadequate for the Home Office to respond with promises of codes of practice that offer little legal accountability if breached.
“The Home Office claims facial recognition is as powerful as fingerprinting and DNA, yet proposes far weaker legal protections for our facial biometric data which is captured constantly as we move about.
“Whilst planning a woefully weak framework for the future, the government is already rolling out a five-fold increase of live facial recognition cameras across the country, expanding this Orwellian mass surveillance in our train stations and allowing police to install permanent facial recognition cameras on our high streets.
“Actions speak louder than words, and the government’s support for expanding mass surveillance software is clear. Rather than preserving the public’s protections against police intrusion, the Home Office’s response to this damning public consultation shows they only plan to undercut them.
“We cannot accept the Government’s glacial pace, as more innocent people are falsely accused of crimes they did not commit and our freedom to live without constantly identifying ourselves to the state is already being eroded. The Government admits that this technology is in need of “tough new safeguards.” They must halt the expansion of its use until those safeguards are in place.”
Notes
- Spokespeople are available for interview. Please direct enquiries or requests for interviews to info@bigbrotherwatch.org.uk or 07730439257
- Find out more about our campaign at stopfacialrecognition.org