Member

We cannot uninvent facial recognition technology, and nor should we want to. It is already here and we cannot turn back the clock. However, we can set legal limits on how it is used and what happens to the mass of data it collects about innocent citizens. That is what we have done for decades with fingerprints and DNA. At long last, just before Christmas, this Government, to their credit, launched a consultation on facial recognition technology, which might or might not lead to legislation sometime in the future. In the meantime, Amendment 379 would put a hold on using facial recognition technology for the mass surveillance of protesters until the essential statutory rules and oversight are in place. For that reason, I commend it wholeheartedly to the House.