Jason Beer QC and Francesca Whitelaw appear in the Court of Appeal in the first case to consider the use of facial recognition technology by the police service

From 23rd – 25th June 2020, the Court of Appeal heard an appeal against the Divisional Court’s decision in R (Bridges) v Chief Constable of South Wales Police [2020] 1 WLR 672 (see here). 

The Divisional Court held that the use by South Wales of facial recognition technology – called AFR Locate – to investigate, detect and prevent crime was lawful, and in particular that it complied with the Human Rights Act 1998, the Data Protection Act 1998 and the Data Protection Act 2018. The case is the first in the world to consider the use by police of facial recognition technology by law enforcement agencies. The appeal was heard by the Master of the Rolls, the President of the Queen’s Bench Division and Singh LJ (President of the Investigatory Powers Tribunal)).  Judgment was reserved.

Jason Beer QC and Francesca Whitelaw represented the Chief Constable of South Wales Police