ICO to Investigate King's Cross Facial Recognition Use

UK watchdog The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has opened an investigation into the use of facial recognition technology installed in CCTV cameras by the developer of Granary Square, close to King's Cross railway station.

Earlier this week, London Mayor Sadiq Khan wrote to Argent, the owner of the development, demanding to know whether the company believes its use of this technology in its CCTV systems is legal. In response, Argent said that it used cameras 'in the interest of public safety', adding that while the cameras use a number of detection and tracking methods, including facial recognition, they also have 'sophisticated systems' in place to protect the privacy of the general public. Under European data protection laws, the company needs to provide details about how long the technology has been in operation and what the legal basis is for its use.

The ICO has now waded in, with Information Commissioner Elizabeth Denham (pictured) saying that scanning people's faces as they lawfully go about their daily lives in order to identify them, is a 'potential threat to privacy that should concern us all' - particularly if it is done without people's knowledge or understanding. ICO's investigation will require detailed information from the relevant organisations about how the technology is used, and the ICO will inspect the system and its operation on-site, to assess whether or not it complies with data protection law.

'I remain deeply concerned about the growing use of facial recognition technology in public spaces', Denham stated. 'My office and the judiciary are both independently considering the legal issues and whether the current framework has kept pace with emerging technologies and people's expectations about how their most sensitive personal data is used. Put simply, any organisations wanting to use facial recognition technology must comply with the law - and they must do so in a fair, transparent and accountable way', she added.

Web site: www.ico.org.uk .