Live facial recognition was deployed at a protest setting for the first time on 16 May when it was used to police an anti-immigration protest in London. Privacy and civil liberties campaigners warn such large-scale screening of innocent people risks normalising mass surveillance of the UK public.
Jasleen Chaggar, Big Brother Watch’s senior legal and policy officer, said: “”The police are already experimenting with embedding live facial recognition into CCTV cameras and have now alarmingly deployed the Orwellian technology for the first time at a protest.”
“We are at risk of becoming a nation of suspects, tracked from the moment we leave our front door, with profound consequences for our rights to privacy, free speech and freedom of association,” she added.
Reuters – On London’s streets, facial recognition tests the balance between security and liberty