UK Home Office accused of secretly backing facial recognition technology to curb shoplifting

UK Home Office accused of secretly backing facial recognition technology to curb shoplifting

UK Home Office accused of secretly backing facial recognition technology to curb shoplifting.

The UK government’s secretive strategy to install electronic surveillance in shops has raised bias and data concerns, in stark contrast to the EU’s ban on artificial intelligence in public spaces.

Home Office officials have hatched a secretive plan to lobby an independent privacy watchdog in an attempt to roll out controversial facial recognition technology to high street shops and supermarkets.

The secretive strategy was agreed in a closed-door meeting between Police Minister Chris Philp, senior Home Office officials and private company Facewatch on March 8.

The minutes show that Home Office officials agreed to write to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) touting the benefits of facial recognition technology in fighting “retail crime”.

Mark Johnson, advocacy manager for the Big Brother Watch campaign, said: “The Home Office must immediately answer questions about the meeting, which appears to have led officials to move closer to the ICO in favor of a company selling highly invasive facials. Identify technology companies. Government ministers should be working to protect human rights rather than courting private companies whose products pose a serious threat to UK civil liberties. “

Previously unsealed meeting minutes show Philp – who was appointed police secretary by Rishi Sunak last October – and Facewatch founder Simon Gordon discussed “retail crime and privately owned facial recognition technology”. the benefits of”.

Subsequently, as part of an action plan agreed during the meeting, it was stated that “officials will draft a letter to the ICO addressing the impact of retail crime”.

In addition, Philp will “consider giving a presentation highlighting the benefits of FR (Facial Recognition)”.

It’s unclear exactly what contacts the Home Office had with the privacy watchdog about Facewatch. Still, the minutes show that Philp was aware that any attempt to pressure independent regulators would likely be ineffective.

CP [Chris Philp] reiterated that the ICO is independent and he cannot try to change their ruling or opinion.

Facial recognition technology has drawn widespread criticism and scrutiny, and the European Union is moving to ban the use of the technology in public spaces through a forthcoming artificial intelligence bill.

However, the UK’s Data Protection and Information Act proposes to abolish the duties of a government-appointed surveillance camera commissioner, as well as the requirement for a code of conduct for surveillance cameras.

Johnson added: “The UK should seek to emulate Europe’s AI bill, which would ban the use of facial recognition technology for surveillance in all public places.”

Shoplifting in the UK has more than doubled in the past six years and will reach eight million by 2022.

The Co-op warned last week that some neighborhoods could become “no-go zones” for stores due to a spike in retail crime.

However, using Facewatch to solve this problem has been controversial. In April, Sports Direct’s parent company defended its decision to use Facewatch cameras in stores.

Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group said the cameras had reduced crime, after 50 MPs and colleagues signed a letter opposing the company’s use of real-time facial recognition technology.

Gordon, who founded Facewatch in 2010, said: “We provide every business with a camera that can monitor their faces, and the service we provide to every business can reduce crime in the store and make employees safer. Every Every store has 10 to 20 people who regularly steal from the store. And the store knows who they are. They’ve been preventing theft for years, it’s nothing new. It’s just using new technology to stop theft.”

He added: “One major retailer saw a 25% reduction in [crime] using Facewatch compared to stores that didn’t use Facewatch.”

South Wales Police and London’s Metropolitan Police have used facial recognition software at events such as the Notting Hill Carnival and more recently at the Coronation.

In 2020, a Court of Appeal judge ruled that South Wales Police’s previous trials of the technology were illegal and unethical, despite the police continuing to use the technology.

Last month, the Metropolitan Police revealed the results of a review of the technology’s effectiveness, claiming that “there was no statistically significant bias in terms of race and gender, and the chance of a false match was only 1 in 6,000 people who passed the cameras.”

Asked about the Home Office’s support for Facewatch, a Home Office spokesperson said: “Shops are at the heart of our communities and it’s important that businesses can trade freely without fear of crime or chaos. We will therefore continue to work with Retail businesses, security representatives, trade associations and police work closely together to ensure our response to retail crime is as robust as possible. New technologies such as facial recognition can help businesses protect their customers, staff and inventory by proactively managing shoplifting and crime .”

UK Home Office accused of secretly backing facial recognition technology to curb shoplifting