The UK’s biometrics commissioner has warned new facial recognition rules must cover both police and wider public sector bodies, and not drive “automated” decisions.
The Home Office is mulling a new legal framework for facial recognition.
Biometrics and Surveillance Camera Commissioner William Webster emphasised the need for a human-in-the-loop approach for live facial recognition (LFR) technology by law enforcement.
In response to a Home Office consultation, he said: “The framework must actively guard against the risk that policing activities are reduced to the automated execution of algorithmic outputs, ensuring that human judgment remains authoritative.”
Webster also warned the consultation was “silent” on non-police use cases and called for regulations to cover any organisation engaged in “law enforcement, public safety or crime prevention”, including safeguarding.
Some UK retailers already use facial recognition to identify suspected shoplifters, with false positives reported.
Home Office and LFR
The commissioner’s public response comes two weeks after the end of the consultation on a 33-page report proposing new rules to govern the use of LFR. It said current rules failed to assure police or the public on the use of LFR.
