AI and live facial recognition in policing

That this House expresses grave concern at the Government’s plans to expand the use of artificial intelligence and live facial recognition technology across England and Wales as part of its policing reforms; notes that nationwide deployment of facial recognition constitutes permanent mass surveillance of the public in everyday spaces; believes that such technology fundamentally undermines the presumption of innocence by treating all citizens as potential suspects; further notes the serious risks posed to privacy, freedom of expression, freedom of assembly and the right to protest, particularly in the context of recent mass arrests of peaceful demonstrators and proposals to curtail jury trials; is alarmed at the creation of a surveillance framework resembling a panopticon, with asymmetric state power exercised over the population without adequate statutory safeguards or democratic consent; recognises widespread concern from civil liberties organisations regarding misidentification, algorithmic bias and lack of meaningful oversight; and calls on the Government to halt the rollout of live facial recognition and AI policing technologies, to bring forward primary legislation for full parliamentary scrutiny, and to reaffirm its commitment to civil liberties, the presumption of innocence and democratic freedoms in the United Kingdom.