Facial
recognition technology is drawing scrutiny in a country more accustomed
to surveillance than any other Western democracy.
"“Technology is driving forward, and legislation and regulation follows ever so slowly behind,” said Tony Porter,
Britain’s surveillance camera commissioner, who oversees compliance
with the country’s surveillance camera code of practice. “It would be
wrong for me to suggest the balance is right.”
Britain’s
experience mirrors debates about the technology in the United States
and elsewhere in Europe. Critics say the technology is an intrusion of
privacy, akin to constant identification checks of an unsuspecting
public, and has questionable accuracy, particularly at identifying people who aren’t white men."
