Scotland: Amnesty International Urges Police to Drop Facial Recognition Plans

Amnesty International have issued a fresh demand that Police Scotland abandon plans to explore the use of live facial recognition technology on Scotland’s streets, describing the technology as “incompatible” with Scotland’s human rights obligations.

In a response to a Police Scotland and Scottish Police Authority consultation on a draft Biometrics Strategy for Scottish policing to 2030, Amnesty warned that implementing facial recognition technology would represent “a historic shift in the relationship between the police and public.” It described the technology as inherently disproportionate and went on to warn that its adoption in Scotland risked breaching the rights of people across the country, including their rights to privacy, peaceful assembly, freedom of association and freedom of expression.

It comes after Police Scotland confirmed that, while no final decision had yet been taken about use of the technology by Scottish police, it was continuing to explore its potential use. But with the consultation making reference to “maximising” use of technological advances, alarm bells have rung for human rights campaigners concerned about the introduction of a tool of mass surveillance.

The technology has been heavily criticised by rights and equalities groups not only for undermining the principle of policing by consent, but also for disproportionately targeting people from Black, racialised and more deprived backgrounds. In several areas of England and Wales where it is in use, it has already faced legal challenges due to the rights-eroding impacts that it has had, with the Court of Appeal finding in 2020 that South Wales Police’s use of the technology breached privacy rights, data protection laws and equality laws.

Neil Cowan, Scotland Programme Director at Amnesty International, said:

“The police must listen to the voices of people across Scotland, who are horrified at the prospect of this mass surveillance tool being rolled out on Scotland’s streets.

In showing an alarming disregard for fundamental human rights and in disproportionately targeting people of colour, this invasive and disturbing technology should have no place in a Scotland that respects and values human rights.

Any claims by Police Scotland to be a rights-respecting force will ring hollow unless these plans are dropped. If they are not, Scotland will be dragged backwards on human rights.”