UK Police Granted Powers to Run Facial Recognition Searches

In a quiet amendment to a new criminal justice bill, the UK government has granted police the authority to conduct facial recognition searches on a vast database containing images of all 50 million driving licence holders in the country.

Privacy campaigners argue that the single clause within the bill could effectively place every driver in a perpetual police line-up.

The legislation enables law enforcement agencies, including the National Crime Agency (NCA), to search driving licence records for a match when attempting to identify individuals from images captured on CCTV or shared on social media. Critics have expressed concern over the lack of explicit reference in the bill or its explanatory notes, accusing the government of surreptitiously introducing the significant change.

Once the bill is enacted, Home Secretary James Cleverly is mandated to establish ‘driver information regulations’ to facilitate these searches, with only a requirement to consult police bodies. Privacy advocates argue that facial recognition technology poses threats to individual rights, citing concerns about privacy, freedom of expression, non-discrimination, and freedom of assembly.

The move comes amid increasing use of live facial recognition technology by police, raising questions about its accuracy and potential biases, especially against minority communities. Critics call for greater public debate and express concerns over the erosion of civil liberties in the absence of sufficient safeguards. The Home Office contends that the amendment clarifies the law around safeguarding and accountability without allowing automatic access for facial recognition, promising any further developments would undergo public engagement.

Companies in the ID and secure document industry would argue, with some justification, that the use of facial recognition technology for mass surveillance has little to do with the way that facial recognition is used as a means of biometric authentication. But the implementation of facial recognition technology to improve public order and solve crimes may attract increased regulatory scrutiny and, as a consequence, companies might face additional compliance requirements and costs associated with adapting their products to meet evolving legal standards.