Nicholas Dynon: Facial recognition technology.....

In your face: our acceptance of facial recognition technology depends on who is doing it – and where

Facial recognition technology is becoming more widely used, but this has not been matched by wider acceptance from the public.

Controversies continue to hit the media, with both public and private sector organisations frequently outed for flawed deployments of the technology.

Ron Smith: Security and trust

I have regularly argued (or sometimes simply assumed) that it is reasonable to accept some degree of state intrusion into the private dealings of its citizens, in the interests of national or individual security (see, for instance, ‘Spying and the public interest’, November 2011).  Of course, I also accept that it is permissible to spy on individuals who may not be citizens but who may represent a threat to those who are.  Indeed, quite recently, I have criticised US security authorities for failing to be sufficiently proactive in the matter of the Boston bombers (‘Loosers’, April, this year).