Report: facial recognition software inaccurate in up to 98% of cases

The Independent has published figures it gained under a freedom of information request that shows that the facial recognition software that U.K. police forces are trialing are mostly inaccurate. The figures show that of the 104 alerts triggered by the facial recognition tech the U.K.’s Metropolitan Police use, only 2 of them were accurate. That’s a 98% false-positive rate. Another system used by South Wales Police over a 15-day period returned more than 2,400 false positives with only 234 alerts being correct matches–a false-positive rate of almost 90%. The news will bolster privacy campaigners who say the use of such systems is Orwellian and has the potential to cause more harm to citizens than good.