Elizabeth Denham opened the inquiry after showing “significant concern” over the technology’s legality and effectiveness. Earlier in 2018, Denham threatened legal action against the Home office and the National Police Chiefs’ Council over the intrusiveness intrinsic to facial recognition, which uses AI to identify suspects among thousands of faces recorded by surveillance cameras. (The Telegraph)

Talking point: “How facial recognition technology is used in public spaces can be particularly intrusive,” wrote Denham in a blog post earlier this year, adding that there is a lack of transparency around the use of the technology, and any benefit to public safety would be outweighed by how little it is trusted. Police are currently piloting the technology in London, Humberside, South Wales and Leicestershire.