ENSURING LEGITIMACY AND ACCOUNTABILITY

In February, Professor Fraser Sampson, the biometrics and surveillance camera commissioner, published his annual report in which he mentioned facial recognition technology.

The Commissioner is responsible for overseeing police use of DNA and fingerprints in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and for encouraging the proper use of public space surveillance cameras.

The report, which was submitted to the Home Secretary in November, sets out Professor Sampson’s findings in relation to his statutory responsibilities, and other observations about the use of biometrics and overt surveillance. Among other topics, it also covers facial recognition technology.

Professor Sampson said: “The areas of biometrics and surveillance are becoming both increasingly important and increasingly inter-related. In recent years we have seen an explosion of surveillance technology in the public and private realms, with devices such as drones and body worn video, dashcams and smart doorbells. At the same time, there have been enormous advances in the power of AI to exploit the vast amount of surveillance data now being produced.

“I believe that many of the issues raised in my report show that we urgently need to wake up to the opportunities presented, and the threats posed by, the explosion of capability in AI-driven biometric surveillance. If we fail, we risk missing out on the potential benefits it can offer and exposing ourselves to the potential dangers it poses.

“Now more than ever, we need a clear, comprehensive and coherent framework to ensure proper regulation and accountability in these crucial areas.”

Legislation

Sampson notes that the police are using biometric surveillance technology such as facial recognition, though there remains uncertainty around the regulatory framework for ensuring legitimacy and accountability if and when they do use such technology. He outlines the two sides to the debate: “Biometric surveillance technologies can undoubtedly be intrusive to privacy and raise other human rights considerations, but there is no question that they can also be powerful weapons in the fight against serious crime and safeguard other fundamental rights such as the right to E