United Kingdom

On October 31, 2019, Elizabeth Denham, the UK’s Information Commissioner issued an Opinion and an accompanying blog urging police forces to slow down adoption of live facial recognition technology and take steps to justify its use.  The Commissioner calls on the UK government to introduce a statutory binding code of practice on the use of biometric technology such as live facial recognition technology.  The Commissioner also announced that the ICO is separately investigating the use of facial recognition by private sector organizations, and will be reporting on those findings in due course.

The Opinion follows the ICO’s investigation into the use of live facial recognition technology in trials conducted by the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) and South Wales Police (SWP).  The ICO’s investigation was triggered by the recent UK High Court decision in R (Bridges) v The Chief Constable of South Wales (see our previous blog post here), where the court held that the use of facial recognition technology by the South Wales Police Force (“SWP”) was lawful.

The ICO had intervened in the case.  In the Opinion, the Commissioner notes that, in some areas, the High Court did not agree with the Commissioner’s submissions.  The Opinion states that the Commissioner respects and acknowledges the decision of the High Court, but does not consider that the decision should be seen as a blanket authorization to use live facial recognition in all circumstances.Continue Reading AI/IoT Update: UK’s Information Commissioner Issues Opinion on Use of Live Facial Recognition Technology by Police Forces

R (on the application of Edward Bridges) v The Chief Constable of South Wales [2019] EWHC 2341 (Admin)

Case Note

Introduction

In Bridges, an application for judicial review, the UK High Court (Lord Justice Haddon-Cave and Mr. Justice Swift) considered the lawfulness of policing operations conducted by the South Wales Police force (“SWP”) which utilised Automated Facial Recognition (“AFR”) technology.  The Court rejected Mr Bridges’ allegations that the SWP’s conduct was unlawful as contrary to the European Convention on Human Rights (“ECHR”), Article 8, the Data Protection Acts 1998 and 2018 (“DPA 98 and 18”), and the Equality Act 2010.  In this blog post we consider several key aspects of the case.Continue Reading UK Court upholds police use of automated facial recognition technology

At the Black Hat conference in Las Vegas last week, a security researcher presented his research on using access rights available under the GDPR for identity theft purposes (slides available here; whitepaper available here).  Specifically, the researcher “attempted to steal as much information as possible” about his fiancé…
Continue Reading New Research Exposes Perils of Bogus Access Requests Under GDPR, With Implications for CCPA

On July 25, 2019, the UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office (“ICO”) published a blog on the trade-offs between different data protection principles when using Artificial Intelligence (“AI”).  The ICO recognizes that AI systems must comply with several data protection principles and requirements, which at times may pull organizations in different directions.  The blog identifies notable trade-offs that may arise, provides some practical tips for resolving these trade-offs, and offers worked examples on visualizing and mathematically minimizing trade-offs.

The ICO invites organizations with experience of considering these complex issues to provide their views.  This recent blog post on trade-offs is part of its on-going Call for Input on developing a new framework for auditing AI.  See also our earlier blog on the ICO’s call for input on bias and discrimination in AI systems here.Continue Reading ICO publishes blog post on AI and trade-offs between data protection principles

On July 16, 2019, the UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office (“ICO”) released a new draft Data sharing code of practice (“draft Code”), which provides practical guidance for organizations on how to share personal data in a manner that complies with data protection laws.  The draft Code focuses on the sharing of personal data between controllers, with a section referring to other ICO guidance on engaging processors.  The draft Code reiterates a number of legal requirements from the GDPR and DPA, while also including good practice recommendations to encourage compliance. The draft Code is currently open for public consultation until September 9, 2019, and once finalized, it will replace the existing Data sharing code of practice (“existing Code”).
Continue Reading ICO Launches Public Consultation on New Data Sharing Code of Practice

Back in 2013, we published a blog post entitled, “European Regulators and the Eternal Cookie Debate” about what constitutes “consent” for purposes of complying with the EU’s cookie rules.  The debate continues…  Yesterday, the ICO published new guidance on the use of cookies and a related “myth-busting” blog…
Continue Reading ICO Updates Guidance on Cookies and Similar Technologies

On June 25, 2019, as part of their continuing work on the AI Auditing Framework, the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) published a blog setting out their views on human bias and discrimination in AI systems. The ICO has also called for input on specific questions relating to human…
Continue Reading ICO’s Call for Input on Bias and Discrimination in AI systems

On June 10, 2019, the UK Government’s Digital Service and the Office for Artificial Intelligence released guidance on using artificial intelligence in the public sector (the “Guidance”).  The Guidance aims to provide practical guidance for public sector organizations when they implement artificial intelligence (AI) solutions.

The Guidance will be of interest to companies that provide AI solutions to UK public sector organizations, as it will influence what kinds of AI projects public sector organizations will be interested in pursuing, and the processes that they will go through to implement AI systems.  Because the UK’s National Health Service (NHS) is a public sector organization, this Guidance is also likely to be relevant to digital health service providers that are seeking to provide AI technologies to NHS organizations.

The Guidance consists of three sections: (1) understanding AI; (2) assessing, planning and managing AI; (3) using AI ethically and safely, as summarized below. The guidance also has links to summaries of examples where AI systems have been used in the public sector and elsewhere.Continue Reading UK Government’s Guide to Using AI in the Public Sector

Earlier this month, the UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office published a draft code of practice (“Code”) on designing online services for children. The Code  is now open for public consultation until May 31, 2019. The Code sets out 16 standards of “age appropriate design” with which online service providers should comply when designing online services (such as apps, connected toys, social media platforms, online games, educational websites and streaming services) that children under the age of 18 are likely to access. The standards are based on data protection law principles, and are legally enforceable under the GDPR and UK Data Protection Act 2018. The Code also provides further guidance on collecting consent from children and the legal basis for processing children’s personal data (see Annex A and B of the Code). The Code should be read in conjunction with the ICO’s current guidance on children and the GDPR.
Continue Reading ICO issues draft code of practice on designing online services for children

On March 29, 2019, the ICO opened the beta phase of the “regulatory sandbox” scheme (the “Sandbox”), which is a new service designed to support organizations that are developing innovative and beneficial projects that use personal data.  The application process for participating in the Sandbox is now open, and applications must be submitted to the ICO by noon on Friday May 24, 2019. The ICO has published on its website a Guide to the Sandbox, which explains the scheme in detail.

The purpose of the Sandbox is to support organizations that are developing innovative products and services using personal data and develop a shared understanding of what compliance looks like in particular innovative areas.  Organizations participating in the Sandbox are likely to benefit from having the opportunity to liaise directly with the regulator on innovative projects with complex data protection issues.  The Sandbox will also be an opportunity for market leaders in innovative technologies to influence the ICO’s approach to certain use cases with challenging aspects of data protection compliance or where there is uncertainty about what compliance looks like.

The beta phase of the Sandbox is planned to run from July 2019 to September 2020.  Around 10 organizations from private, public and third sectors will be selected to participate.  In the beta phase, the ICO is focusing on data processing that falls within the remit of UK data protection law.  
Continue Reading ICO opens beta phase of privacy “regulatory sandbox”