As perhaps one of the most controversial technologies in recent memory, debate about the use of facial recognition to police citizens has been tumultuous to say the least. From citywide condemnations to proposed EU bans, lawmakers are torn between the functionality of new tech and a commitment to privacy. Now, with the Met announcing its latest decision to fully utilize LFR throughout the city, it’s safe to say the mainstream age of facial recognition technology is upon use.
Met Police Announcement
In a statement released today, London’s Metropolitan Police announced it will “begin the operational use of Live Facial Recognition technology,” specifically to help “tackle serious crime, including serious violence, gun and knife crime, and child sexual exploitation.” And of course, they have to mention how safe they were going to keep everyone and how much everyone supports this decision. The Met claims that the LFR system — which will be fully operational, rather than on a trial basis — is 70% effective at identifying subjects, and hardly ever falsely identifies anyone. Honestly, those numbers don’t sound great already, and they sound even worse when you consider the person who conducted the only independent review of the system says it was a lot closer to 19%. While it’s certainly one of the larger cities to implement this kind of technology into their police system, London is not the first. South Wales has been using it for less than a year, after a number of court cases opened the doors for its use. Unfortunately, that didn’t stop people from responding to the news with a lot of reasonable negativity.
The Swift and Brutal Response
As you’d expect, the response to the Met’s decision was as passionate as it was pointed. Critics called the use of facial recognition by the London police service everything from “a huge threat to human rights,” to “a dangerous, oppressive and completely unjustified move.” And they certainly didn’t stop at name calling. Despite the notable backlash, the Met is moving forward with this decision. And while the citywide support they claim to have might be suspect, having the mayor on your side certainly doesn’t hurt your cause. That is, as long as they utilize the technology correctly and morally. Criticisms of the accuracy and morality of using facial recognition technology to monitor citizens are more than justified. The reality is though, if you’ve got the mayor on your side, all the backlash in the world isn’t going to stop you, even if that’s exactly what’s happening.
Global Facial Recognition Backlash
London might be on board with facial recognition technology, but they don’t have a lot of company. While the city has been a bit more prone to surveillance the others in recent years, the global backlash to the development of the controversial tech has been substantial, and it’s taken a lot of forms. Even if support for facial recognition technology use in law enforcement is high — which, in the US, it surprisingly is — it’s hard to argue that it’s accurate enough to be utilizing it outside of a trial basis. Studies have shown the tech to be racist, sexist, and generally wrong to an embarrassing level for anything being used to decide who goes to jail and who doesn’t. And if you disagree, just wait until you’re one of the people being falsely identified.
