Police facial recognition: Public divided over use as ban looms

The use of facial recognition by police and other law enforcement is proving divisive, with Verdict readers split over its use. In a poll on Verdict that saw responses from 644 readers between 24 January and 7 February, the majority said they were not happy with the use of facial recognition by police, but only by a slim margin. The response comes as the EU is considering a ban on the use of facial recognition until the technology reaches a greater stage of maturity. A draft white paper, which was first published by the news website EURACTIV in January, showed that a temporary ban was being considered by the European Commission. It proposed that "use of facial recognition technology by private or public actors in public spaces would be prohibited for a definite period (e.g.