Activists fight against mass surveillance and raise awareness for human rights
According to Statista, 630,000 cameras are currently installed in the UK capital. But this has not been enough for officers to catch wanted criminals. For this reason, after several trials, The Metropolitan Police has considered to deploy live facial recognition cameras.
Investigative journalist Geoff White has created a website with a map that specifies the exact location of these cameras. “Officers and authorities say that if you don’t fear, you have nothing to hide,” says White. “They should not have to hide where they are using this technology.”
Citizens don’t realise the seriousness of the situation as the system is unknown. “The ability to harvest a unique thing from everybody on mass is new,” says White. “That is why this is different from other technological problems we deal with.”
The Dazzle Club started a discussion on whether the cameras have been implemented to prevent crimes or to establish a system of power. They paint geometrical shapes to block out their main facial features. Georgina Rowlands, one of the members of the club, says: “It scrambles the algorithm so you can’t be compared to anybody in their database.”
The club is concerned about the bias in facial recognition. It has been 99% effective with white men and only 30% with black women which could lead to “an increase in wrongful arrests”.
If that happens, the system is far from achieving its purpose.
Cover photo credits: Georgina Rowland
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