British police have come under fire for uploading 18 million pictures of people to a facial recognition database without receiving approval from the Home Office or independent watchdogs.
The large database contains mugshots of some Britons who have never been charged and others who have been cleared of a crime, British media reported on Tuesday.
Independent biometrics commissioner Alastair MacGregor said “hundreds and thousands” of innocent Britons might be included in the database, voicing concern about the database’s implications for privacy and civil liberties.
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According to MacGregor, police began setting up a searchable database last year without informing either him or the Home Office, which is the UK’s governmental department responsible for the police.
