Automatic Facial Recognition and the Intensification of Police Surveillance

Abstract In R (on the application of Bridges) v Chief Constable of South Wales Police the Court of Appeal held the deployment of live automated facial recognition technology (AFR) by the South Wales Police Force (SWP) unlawful on three grounds. It violated the right to respect for private life under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights because it lacked a suitable basis in law; the Data Protection Impact Assessment carried out under section 64 of the Data Protection Act 2018 was deficient for failing to assess the risks to the rights and freedoms of individuals processed by the system; and SWP failed to fulfil the Public Service Equality Duty imposed by section 149 of the Equality Act 2010 by failing to assess whether or not the software used in the AFR system was biased in relation to sex and race.