On Wednesday, 3 May, the Metropolitan Police announced that it intends to use live facial recognition technology in central London during the Coronation of His Majesty The King and Her Majesty The Queen Consort. A watch list will focus on individuals "wanted for or offences or have an outstanding warrant for arrest issued by the courts, or those under relevant offender management programmes in order to keep the public safe," the press release confirmed.
In a separate statement, Madeleine Stone, Legal and Policy Officer at Big Brother Watch responded to the announcement by saying, "Live facial recognition is an authoritarian mass surveillance tool that turns the public into walking ID cards. This Orwellian technology may be used in China and Russia but has no place on the streets of Britain, least not during the Coronation."
Big Brother Watch highlight the Met Police's own figures indicating that 86% of its facial recognition flags are inaccurate.
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