UK police forces are using past facial recognition technology to compare images submitted by the public with custody records in an attempt to track down suspects.
Hampshire Constabulary, Humberside Police, North Wales Police and South Yorkshire Police are among the forces that are trialling or interested in the in the software.
Silkie Carlo, director of Big Brother Watch, said greater police adoption of FR had “eye-watering possibilities for abuse”.
“This could turn encounters with the police, whether at protests, on the roads or during stop and search, into an Orwellian police lineup resulting in yet more intrusive information gathering,” she said.
“This Orwellian, deeply flawed spying technology has no place being sold or used in the UK. It is the stuff of dystopian fiction, not a functioning democracy.