A resolution banning Police Scotland’s unfettered use of Live Facial Recognition (LFR) has been passed by the SNP at its annual conference. 

The resolution, brought by Erin Lux, opposed the implementation of LFR by the force without legislation first being passed by the Scottish Parliament concerning its use, legislation that must align with the EU’s AI Act restrictions on facial recognition.

Implementing those restrictions would mean the prohibition of LFR in public spaces by law enforcement without prior approval, with its use limited to issues such as preventing terrorism, locating missing persons, or finding suspects. 

“Live Facial Recognition effectively turns your face into a mandatory ID card, all of this without so much as a debate in our parliament,” said Lux.

Earlier this year, Police Scotland cautiously reintroduced its desire to use facial recognition technology, seeking public opinion after being soundly rebuffed in 2020, when the Scottish Parliament’s Justice Sub-Committee on Policing held an inquiry into the force’s LFR plans, concluding that there was “no justifiable basis for Police Scotland to invest in this technology”.

Since then, however, the Scottish Biometrics Commissioner, Dr Brian Plastow, confirmed that Police Scotland will move ahead with plans to implement LFR, despite the Scottish Human Rights Commission cautioning that the move could “risk reputational damage to Scottish policing.”

While Police Scotland chiefs have tried to reassure that they will work with the public to develop a strict framework for the use of LFR, critics caution that rolling out the technology would be a ‘radical departure’ from the force’s fundamental principle of policing by consent.    

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“We only have to look south of the border to see what happens when these technologies are introduced by the back door without regulation,” said Lux.

“So, outside the Notting Hill Carnival but not at the Tommy Robinson rallies. If we don’t act, that could happen here.”

Those sentiments have been echoed across civil society, most recently by Amnesty International, which wrote to the Scottish Government’s secretary for justice, Angela Constance, saying that the use of LFR was not compatible with Scotland’s human rights obligations.

“The implications of the decision to move forward with LFR should not be underestimated. Adoption of the technology would represent a historic shift in the relationship between Police Scotland and the public,” the letter warned.