Watching brief as technology clashes with rights

The government wants to use AI to identify false or fraudulent claims relating to welfare benefits, immigration applications and probably a host of other things. Cameras are now placed at busy locations with computers to recognise offenders. 

This book is an in-depth analysis of the routes to challenge possible state interference with private persons’ rights. Two standout cases are considered in detail. One is R (Bridges) v Chief Constable of South Wales Police [2020] EWCA Civ 1058, which concerned the police use of facial recognition cameras. The technology was used to scan members of the public, capturing up to 50 faces per second. These images were then matched against others on a ‘watchlist’ compiled by the police, using biometric data analysis. If an image did not match any on the watchlist, it was automatically deleted. It has been estimated that the technology may have captured sensitive facial biometric data from around 500,000 people without their consent. The Court of Appeal held that the project was unlawful as it breached rights to privacy and that data had been ‘processed’ even when it was deleted immediately. 

The other case related to welfare benefits (R (Johnson) v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions [2019] EWHC 23 (Admin)). In that case, the claimants argued that the Public Service Equality Duty had not been properly complied with. The court held that the authorities had carried out a sufficient impact assessment. 

As well as considering the law in this country, the book looks at the recent history of proposed regulation and compares the approaches of the US, EU and, interestingly, China. The American approach is described as market-led and the Chinese model as state-driven.  

This is a thought-provoking publication. However, I might like to have seen more practical examples of how AI could be used by governments in respect of welfare benefits, tax, immigration and policing. 

David Pickup is a partner at Pickup & Scott Solicitors, Aylesbury