UK Police Facial Recognition Use Doubles to 5M Scans Annually

Facial recognition deployment represents an alarming expansion of surveillance that treats every citizen as a potential suspect without proper legal oversight. The technology scans millions of innocent faces annually while operating under self-regulation by police forces, creating a chilling effect on civil liberties and democratic freedoms. Studies show the technology exhibits bias against people of color and women, with error rates that risk wrongful arrests and violations of basic privacy rights. The absence of parliamentary legislation governing this invasive technology allows unchecked expansion that fundamentally alters the relationship between citizens and the state.