Facial recognition system on King's Cross Estate has been switched off, says site developer

Data processed via the facial recognition system was regularly deleted, claims King's Cross Estate

Facial recognition technology at London's King's Cross Estate was last used in March 2018 - and there is no plan to reintroduce it.

That's according to the King's Cross Central Limited Partnership (KCCLP), the site developer, which says the two cameras with surveillance software were operational on a busy pedestrian street in King's Cross Estate between May 2016 and March 2018 to "ensure public safety".

However, those cameras were switched off in March 2018 following backlash from the public. "The King's Cross Estate does not currently use FRT [facial recognition technology]," KCCLP said in a statement released on its website.

It continued: "Two FRT cameras, covering a single location at King's Boulevard, were operational between May 2016 and March 2018. During that time, data processed via the FRT system was regularly deleted, with the final deletion taking place in March 2018."

KCCLP also said that no data collected via the FRT system was ever shared with any private firm.

The King's Cross Estate houses several office buildings, including Central Saint Martin's college, Google's UK headquarters, schools, and offices of various retailers.

Last month, King's Cross site became involved in a debate following reports last month that claimed that the site developer had been using the surveillance software to track tens of thousands of people across the estate.

In a short statement released at that time, KCCLP admitted that its cameras around the 67-acre, 50-building site used "a number of detection and tracking methods, including facial recognition" in the interest of public safety.

Many human rights groups criticised the use of FRT at King's Cross, complaining that the developer was capturing the images of people without their consent.

Hannah Couchman, a policy and campaigns officer from Liberty, described FRT as "a disturbing expansion of mass surveillance" that was threatening the privacy and freedom of expression of people in their everyday lives.

The London mayor, Sadiq Khan and several expert academics also questioned KCCLP about its scheme. The revelation also triggered an investigation by the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO).

The use of facial recognition by police forces has sparked several debates in the UK about the security and privacy of citizens. In South Wales, the use of FRT by police has been challenged in the courts by an office worker in Cardiff.

In July, the Metropolitan Police was criticised over its use of FRT that was proved to be wildly inaccurate.

In the same month, the House of Commons Science and Technology Committee urged the government to suspend the "highly intrusive" trials on facial recognition technology. The committee also questioned the legal basis for facial recognition trials being conducted by police forces.

The Information Commissioner Elizabeth Denham also recently issued a warning to police forces over facial recognition technology, reminding them that live facial recognition technology was subject to GDPR.