The High Court in London has ruled that the use of facial recognition technology is lawful

The Administrative Division of the High Court of Justice of the United Kingdom has ruled that real-time facial recognition technology does not violate the European Convention on Human Rights. The court considered a lawsuit filed by activists against a September 2024 order by the Commissioner of Police to integrate this system into CCTV networks. 

This is reported in the decision in the case of Thompson v Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis. The judges declined to assess the system’s technical shortcomings, focusing exclusively on the legality of its use by law enforcement.

The plaintiffs argued that the collection of biometric data without citizens’ consent interferes with private life and carries the risk of mistakenly identifying innocent individuals. However, the court dismissed the claim in its entirety, noting that the police use the technology to maintain public order and combat crime. The ruling emphasizes that the activists failed to prove that the interference with rights protected by the convention was disproportionate or excessive.

Previously, British authorities imposed sanctions on foreign companies for similar developments, notably against the Belarusian firm Synesis. However, in domestic judicial practice, the use of such tools by the police has been recognized as a legitimate measure to ensure security. The ruling of April 21, 2026, sets an important precedent for the further expansion of digital surveillance in public spaces in Russia and other countries following the British model. The ruling emphasizes that the right to privacy in this case yields to the interests of national security.

Previously in the U.S., an elderly woman spent nearly six months in jail after a facial recognition system mistakenly identified her as a suspect in a crime. An artificial intelligence algorithm identified her as a person involved in an offense that allegedly occurred nearly 2,000 kilometers from her place of residence, after which she was detained by federal marshals.

Between 2019 and 2021, Iran purchased the Russian facial recognition system FindFace through front companies and used it to identify protesters.