Police and private security firms are routinely using facial recognition – but who, asks Stewart Mitchell, is checking it’s being used legally?
Tracking citizens via face recognition was once a dystopian fantasy – now the tech is advancing so fast it is being deployed without a proper legal checks That’s the opinion of privacy advocates Big BrotherWatch (BBW), which has taken theMetropolitan Police to court over its trials of technology that uses live video footage of public spaces to identify passers-by against a “watch list” of people of interest.
“The police are using live facial recognition to subject every passer-by to a highly invasive biometric identity check, akin to a fingerprint or DNA check, often without their knowledge or consent,” BBW’s legal and policy officer, Griff Ferris, told PC Pro. “Despite the lack of any legal basis for the use of this authoritarian technology, and despite significant concerns that its use infringes people’s human rights, the Metropolitan Police has announced it plans to use live facial recognition several more times this year. We’re hoping the court will intervene to stop this lawless technology.”
While it’s sometimes tempting to dismiss privacy groups as reactionary, many organisations are concerned about the unfettered rise of face recognition, including one of the watchdogs charged with overseeing deployments.
“The shortcoming in terms of the legislation is the question of legality,” Tony Porter, the government appointed Surveillance Camera Commissioner, told us.
“On the one hand, the state will claim it’s operating under common law for policing purposes and therefore the use of technology is entirely appropriate.
“The opposing view is that common law provides none of the protections that are outlined within the European human rights articles, so it doesn’t provide a clarity in law under which the police or the state ought to be able to protect themselves.”
この記事は PC Pro の November 2018 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、8,500 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です ? サインイン
この記事は PC Pro の November 2018 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、8,500 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です? サインイン
Robobutlers may never happen, but robot care workers are on their way
Do you hate loading the dishwasher enough to pay someone to do it remotely? Nicole Kobie wonders about the weird future of home robots
Technical debt
Cutting corners now means more work down the road - but Steve Cassidy asks whether that's always a bad thing
Zyxel ZyWALL ATP500
Zyxel delivers tough gateway security and advanced threat protection at a very appealing price
CREATIVE WORKSTATIONS
Intel and AMD both offer compelling CPU choices for workstations, giving us ten machines with the widest variety of specifications we've seen for years
ANDROID PHONES FROM £219
As this roundup of four affordable contenders shows, there's no need to spend a fortune on a phone
Amazon Echo Pop
If you want a compact Alexa smart speaker, the Pop is now the cheapest choice - but what does it really add?
Getac X600
A powerful alternative to the Panasonic Toughbook 40, with the bonus of optional Nvidia graphics
Amazon Fire Max 11
With its 2K screen and sleek design, this is Amazon's best tablet yet-but FireOS remains a hindrance
Google Pixel Fold
The Pixel Fold delivers with a thin and durable design, a wide front display, smart software and great cameras
Welcome to the Fediverse
Have commercial social networks had their day? Darien Graham-Smith looks at the free, community-run apps that could usurp Twitter, Reddit and the Meta empire