Tuesday, May 20, 2025

Ban police use of face recognition technology

At the suggestion of the Open Rights Group, I've written to my local council about police use of face recognition technology.

 "I am writing to urge you to to ban police use of live facial recognition technology in Abingdon East.

These surveillance tools are being deployed by police without public consent, or clear legal grounds, undermining the right to privacy, the right to be presumed innocent and making police misuse of the technology more likely.

These tools do not predict crime – they predict policing. Built on flawed, discriminatory data, they disproportionately target Black and racialised communities, low-income areas, and migrants. Rather than making our communites safer, these technologies reinforce racism and criminalise poverty.

“Predictive policing” strips away our fundamental right to be presumed innocent. It creates fear, not safety. The European Union has already recognised these harms and taken action to ban such technologies. The UK must do the same.

It is well documented that when police are given new tools, it is Black and racialised communities that bear the brunt of the harm, with consequences including increased police harassment, injury from use of force and unjust stop and search. I am deeply concerned for the safety of my neighbours if we are to allow police use of “crime predicting” technology to become anymore embedded in our neighbourhoods.

We all want to feel safe in our local areas, but real safety comes from investing in our communities – not from surveillance that fuels fear and distrust.

That is why I urge you to stand in solidarity with your local community, by bringing forward a motion to ban this dangerous tech. As your constituent, I want to feel confident that my rights and safety are being protected.

Please take urgent action to prohibit the use of “crime-predicting” technologies and protect the rights and freedoms of all."

Lib Dem response on Data Use & Access Bill

 I've had a reponse from the Liberal Democrats on my concerns about the Data Use & Access Bill.

 "Dear Ray,

Thank you for taking the time to write. We are responding on Layla’s behalf whilst she takes parental leave. You can view the full transcript of the Bill’s third reading, along with a record of Layla’s proxy votes on amendments, here

The Liberal Democrats welcome the omission of many of the more objectionable elements of the previous DPDI bill, which was introduced by the previous Conservative government but fell when the General Election was called.

Despite these changes, retention and enhancement of public trust in data use and sharing is a major issue in the bill. The focus on smart data and sharing of government data means that the Government must do more to educate the public about how and where our data is used and what powers individuals have to find out this information.

There are still major changes proposed to the Data Protection Act 2018 (GDPR), such as in regard to police duties and Automated Decision Making, which continue to make retention of data adequacy for the purposes of digital trade with the EU of the utmost priority in considering any changes.

We continue to believe that GDPR is not in need of fundamental reform, but rather, where there is any ambiguity in interpretation, clarifications incorporating relevant recitals to the GDPR should be made in the legislation and in improved guidance.

The Liberal Democrats will continue to follow the progress of this Bill closely. Thank you once again for taking the time to get in touch. 


Best wishes,

Office of Layla Moran"

Bottom line - the Lib Dems are not concerned about the expansion in data sharing proposed in the Bill, just that "that the Government must do more to educate the public" about it and the GDPR is not in need of reform.