The Government has pledged to bring in tougher protections around the use of facial recognition technology so that police can use it “fairly and safely”.
This development comes just weeks after it was revealed live facial recognition tech (LFR) would be installed on London’s Oxford Street before Christmas, just in time for the busiest shopping season of the year.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said facial recognition tech had been “the biggest breakthrough for catching criminals since DNA matching, already helping police take thousands of dangerous criminals off our streets.”
Former head of Counter Terrorism Policing Neil Basu said the consultation had been essential for ensuring facial recognition technology was accepted.
“Like all new technologies, live facial recognition had a difficult start and the consultation was absolutely necessary to ensure this new technology was acceptable to the wider public.