Keir Starmer has said that facial recognition surveillance is the answer to far-right riots that broke out across the country following a harrowing knife crime incident in Stockport. Privacy and civil liberties organisation Big Brother Watch has called this move a knee-jerk reaction “alarming” for democracy and that the response does not address the issues driving the riots.
Emphasising on privacy concerns around using Orwellian mass surveillance tools in policing, Silkie Carlo said:
“Whilst common in Russia and China, live facial recognition is banned in Europe.
This AI surveillance turns members of the public into walking ID cards, is dangerously inaccurate and has no explicit legal basis in the UK.”
BBC – ‘We’re watching you,’ far-right protesters warned
Forbes – U.K. PM Calls For More Facial Recognition Following Weekend Of Riots