Commenting on South Wales Police’s decision to use live facial recognition at tonight’s Beyonce gig in Cardiff, Mark Johnson, Advocacy Manager at Big Brother Watch said:
“Live facial recognition is a dangerously authoritarian mass surveillance tool, subjecting ordinary members of the public to high-tech police lineups.
“South Wales Police’s own stats show live facial recognition to be around 90% inaccurate, with studies showing that innocent people of colour are more likely to be misidentified as potential suspects.
“It is an outrage that South Wales Police have chosen to deploy live facial recognition at Beyonce’s Renaissance show, which celebrates diversity. They should reconsider and drop their plans to use this rights-abusive technology on innocent members of the public this evening.”
Notes:
You can find statistics regarding South Wales Police live facial recognition deployment record on Big Brother Watch’s website here.
You can find more information regarding live facial recognition and racial discrimination here.
Spokespeople are available for interviews. Contact Big Brother Watch’s 24h media line on 07730439257 or email info@bigbrotherwatch.org.uk