Live Facial Recognition Surveillance

Kim Johnson, the Labour MP for Liverpool Riverside, asked the Government to assess the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals to protect the right to privacy from live facial recognition surveillance. In response, Dan Jarvis, the Minister of State at the Home Department, acknowledged that facial recognition technology is being used effectively by the police to identify suspects more quickly and accurately. However, he emphasized the importance of having strong safeguards and a robust legal framework in place to govern the use of such new technologies. Jarvis stated that the Government will give careful consideration to the overall impact of all new policing technology. Kim Johnson welcomed the Minister's response but expressed concerns that facial recognition technology is being used by the police in publicly accessible places, which she believes breaches human rights and disproportionately discriminates against black people. She noted that the previous Government failed to introduce legislation to restrict the use of this technology, and she asked Jarvis to confirm when there will be legislation to protect the public and if he would be willing to meet with her and representatives of civil liberties organisations to discuss the matter further. Jarvis responded by stating that the National Physical Laboratory has independently tested the algorithms used by the police in live facial recognition cases and found them to be highly accurate, with no statistically significant differences based on ethnicity at the settings the police generally use. He reiterated the importance of having strong safeguards and a robust legal framework in place to govern the use of new technologies by the police. Jarvis indicated that the policing Minister, Dame Diana Johnson, or he himself would be happy to meet with Kim Johnson to discuss her concerns further.