Join ‘The End of Privacy in Public’ campaign to demand that your MP finds out if dystopian facial recognition cameras are being deployed in your local area.
We’re facing the end of privacy in public, because of the unchecked rise of facial recognition technology (FRT) in public spaces, shops and bars.
As FRT proliferates, your face will become an ID card, a fingerprint, a QR code and a barcode all combined - to be monitored by your local council, the Home Office, the police, even the owner of your local cornershop.
In 2023 we conducted a YouGov survey, through which we learned that your MP probably doesn’t even know if FRT’s being used in your local area. How can your own MP not know?! Our survey also found that well over half of of MPs either wrongly think there is an FRT law or just don’t know if there is a law!
Following the results of the 2024 UK General Election, we now have a new government in place, and of the 650 MPs elected, more than half (335) were new to Parliament entirely. We need to call upon our new MPs to take action against the spiraling use of this highly intrusive surveillance technology.
‘The End of Privacy in Public’ campaign is demanding that your MP wakes up! We want YOU to write to your local MP and demand they find out if FRT is being used in your area. It takes 2 minutes!
Step 1
Go to the UK Parliament website and type in your postcode to find you local MP's email address.
Step 2
Click here to send an email to your MP, and then paste your MP’s email address in the ‘to’ field. If you want to, you can also cc [email protected] so that we can track which MPs are being contacted (See the Disclaimer at the bottom of this page). Please also add your postal address in the email so that your MP can verify you are their constituent.
Or
Copy and paste the letter text below in to an email, and paste your MP’s email address in the ‘to’ field, and if you want to copy PI in, please put [email protected] into the ‘cc’ field. Please add "Is facial recognition technology being used in our constituency?" as the email header:
Dear MP,
As your constituent, I’m writing to ask you to take action against the rapid expansion of facial recognition technology (FRT) in cities and towns across the UK.
I would greatly appreciate you making representations on my behalf to tell me:
If FRT is being used in my local area;
By who and for what purposes and;
What regulatory and legal frameworks permit and oversee such uses.
I live at [PLEASE INSERT YOUR FULL ADDRESS SO THAT THE MP CAN CONFIRM THAT YOU ARE THEIR CONSTITUENT].
Please can you relay the above information back to me and cc [email protected] into your response.
I am deeply concerned that UK police forces are continuously deploying live FRT in public spaces including at protests, with limited notification, and without the consent of individuals whose facial data is being processed, in contravention of their privacy and wider rights. As well as by private companies particularly retail companies within their stores. Both of which has led to concerning instances of misidentification and has been proven to be discriminatory against marginalised groups.
This is taking place within a democratic vacuum without any specific law in place pertaining to the use of FRT that would impose restrictions and safeguards for its use. The UK is now an outlier as the European Union’s Artificial Intelligence Act places bans on certain uses of FRT across Europe.
Privacy International’s 2023 survey of UK MPs also revealed that over half (56%) of the MPs didn’t know whether there is law in place. Despite some police forces using FRT as far back as 2017 the first and only debate regarding FRT took place in parliament only just recently took place on the 13th November 2024.
Thank you in advance for considering taking this important action on my behalf to protect our privacy. I look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
[Your name]
Click here to tell us you sent this!
DISCLAIMER: We (obviously!) take your privacy seriously. By cc’ing us into your email to your MP, PI will collect some of your personal information such as your email address. We will only retain your email for the purposes of tracking responses to our campaign. We will delete your email(s) and any data within it, no later than six months after we receive your email(s). If your MP responds to you, cc’ing Privacy International, we may keep their response and any data within it if it is necessary for our work. We will delete any unnecessary data within those responses no later than six months after we receive the email. Any data we receive from you or your MP will be treated in accordance with our Privacy Policy.