One Nation Under Facial Recognition

GPRG Good Governance Program is thrilled to share the release of our second paper: One Nation Under Facial Recognition: How Can Digital Surveillance in the United Kingdom Better Incorporate Principles of Good Governance?

By better reflecting principles of good governance, many of the key issues surrounding surveillance and privacy can be resolved. In the aftermath of the 2013 Snowden revelations, the status and role of surveillance in many of the world’s leading liberal democracies was questioned. In the United Kingdom, public outrage and internal investigations resulted in new legislation: the Investigatory Powers Act, which made some significant progress on key issues like transparency. However, both public controversies and legal challenges continue to plague the UK surveillance system, and there are major gaps in the framework in terms of new technologies. There are thus clear flaws with the UK surveillance regime that must be addressed given its importance as a tool of national security and policing, and as a politically sensitive topic in the area of public trust. 

You can find the full version of the paper above.