On Instagram, Zee Feed followers sent in submissions for the news stories they wanted broken down and explained in an quick, accessible way.
The first topic: Are Australian police trialling facial recognition technology?
Great question, here’s a TL;DR answer.
Is facial recognition technology being trialled by Australian police?
Yes. ‘Trialled’ is prob even the wrong word – facial recognition technology in is actively being used by police across the country since at least 2018, when an initial 30 CCTV cameras were installed in East Perth, WA.
It’s software-based technology, which means it can be uploaded to existing CCTV cameras rather than requiring installation of new cameras.
How is facial recognition tech currently used in Aus policing?
Police in every state and territory are currently using facial recognition technology in various ways, and the Australia Federal Police have trialled the controversial Clearview AI aka ‘Google for faces’ (highly recc reading the linked BuzzFeed investigation). A few examples:
- Perth City Council has numerous cameras in operation across the CBD
- QLD rolled out a system for Gold Coast Commonwealth Games in 2018, but it was too buggy to work
- Vic Police have reportedly been using camera technology called iFace at Police Stations
Obviously, policing agencies are not keen to reveal lots of details about *how* they are using this tech.
Is it legal?
It’s tricky. Our laws have failed to keep up with technology in so many areas, and this is one of them. It is legal for police to collect personal imagery and information for future use.
Worth knowing that in 2019 the Department of Home Affairs, under Peter Dutton, proposed a bill to extend the use of ‘identity-matching’ surveillance powers available to Government agencies. A bi-partisan review committee knocked this Bill back, which gives you an idea of how complicated it is to get use of this technology right.
Further Reading
- The inconsistent accuracy of facial recognition software
- Some of the controversy around Clearview AI – an in-depth overview here, recent Aussie developments here
- Summary of Australian use of facial recognition software and privacy concerns
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