The UK’s first PERMANENT live facial recognition cameras will be installed in London.
Posted: 27th March 2025
BREAKING: Worrying new mass surveillance development as the UK’s first PERMANENT live facial recognition cameras will be installed in London.
It is urgent the Government gets police use of dangerous facial recognition technology under control. Police forces up and down the country are now using this tech that enables them to identify and track each and every one of us.
Last week, South Wales Police took things up a notch by setting up a supposedly temporary fixed network of facial recognition cameras in Cardiff for the Six Nations rugby, scanning thousands of people across the city.
And now The Times has reported an even more sinister development – permanent facial recognition cameras capable of identifying every single person in range will be fitted in Croydon in South London.
Facial recognition technology changes what it means for us to simply live our lives – and there are no laws covering its use. It is urgent the Government develops safeguards to protect us.
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You may remember that back in 2020, Liberty Member and client, Ed Bridges, won the world’s first legal challenge to police use of Facial Recognition Tech. The Court said South Wales Police’s use of live facial recognition violated privacy rights and broke data protection and equality laws.
But it has continued to infect every aspect of our lives. Police are using it at football matches, the rugby, Formula 1, music festivals, and even at the seaside! It’s being used as a tool of intimidation at protests. And it’s being used in supermarkets with information passed to the police to track down people forced to shoplift during a cost-of-living crisis.
After years of high-profile scandals involving violent, racist and sexist police forces in the UK, trust in officers is at an all-time low. Facial recognition that can identify and track down all of us is dangerous tech used without any safeguards.
We urgently need safeguards to protect us from the rollout of facial recognition as we go about our daily lives. We’re demanding the Government makes sure:
facial recognition is not used without independent sign-off from a judge
no one is added to a police watchlist unless they are reasonably suspected of a serious crime
facial recognition is never used to identify journalists and their sources, whistleblowers, protesters, and anyone in or around polling stations.
If you’re just as concerned as we are, sign your name.
Best Wishes,
Charlie Whelton, Policy & Campaigns Officer