SNP pass resolution to oppose ‘authoritarian’ live facial recognition technology 

A resolution to oppose the implementation of live facial recognition technology (LFR) by Police Scotland has been passed by the SNP at its annual conference.  

The resolution, brought forward by Erin Lux, proposed that the party oppose the implementation of the LFR system if it is not passed through primary legislation at Holyrood. 

“Live facial recognition effectively turns your face into a mandatory ID card,” said Lux. 

“All of this without so much as a debate in parliament. We only have to look south of the border to see what happens when these technologies are introduced by the back door without regulation, as they have been in England and Wales since 2016.” 

The system in England and Wales uses specialist cameras mounted on top of police vans to scan the faces of those in the area in real time. The faces are then compared against a database of people who may be on a watchlist; if a match is found an officer reviews the footage before interacting with the individual. The biometric data captured by the cameras is stored if the face is a match but is immediately deleted if no match is found.  

“We have also seen the bias in how they choose to use this technology,” said Lux. 

“So, outside the Notting Hill Carnival but not at the Tommy Robinson rallies. If we don’t act, that could happen here.” 

Police Scotland tried to implement LFR technology in 2020 but paused its deployment plans after strong criticism from the public and the Scottish Parliament’s Justice Sub-Committee on Policing. 

In 2019, research commissioned by Scotland Yard found that 81 per cent of people flagged by the system were not in the wanted database and shouldn’t have been stopped.  

“This technology is glitchy and prone to false positives,” said Stephanie Melnick, who seconded the resolution. 

“But even if it worked perfectly as it is, at its core it is the tool of an authoritarian surveillance state.” 

The resolution resolves that any implementation of LFR must be passed by Holyrood and be in line with the Human Rights Act and the European Convention on Human Rights. 

The resolution also states that the legislation should adhere to the European Union Artificial Intelligence Act’s restrictions on the use of LFR technology.  

This act prohibits the use of LFR in public spaces, unless its use is “strictly necessary” for the prevention of terrorism, to search for specific suspects or to find missing people. A judicial or administrative authority must also grant the police authorisation before LFR can be authorised for use.