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UK Home Office facial-recognition algorithm remediation

Public Sector Action
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Last updated
Happening score
H score 16
1 unique sources, 1 articles

Summary

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The UK Home Office said it purchased a new algorithm after testing found bias in retrospective facial recognition (RFR) used by police. That matters because RFR supports roughly 25,000 searches a month and the findings showed uneven false-positive rates across white, Asian and black subjects. The new system is due to be operationally tested early next year and then evaluated. The ICO and APCC both want stronger transparency and oversight before broader use.

Related Happenings

Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 (DUAA) Moving the ICO from a corporation sole to a board-run government agency. for Fully materialized within the next few weeks.

Public Sector Action
First: 26.02.2026 16:00 Last: 26.02.2026 16:00 Sources 1

About this happening: The UK **Information Commissioner's Office (ICO)** is moving from a **single-leader model** to a **board-run government agency** under the **Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 (DUAA)*...

Open Happening

Ireland DPC opens GDPR investigation into X Grok sexual image generation

Regulatory/Legal Action
First: 17.02.2026 12:02 Last: 17.02.2026 12:02 Sources 1

About this happening: Ireland's **Data Protection Commission (DPC)** opened a formal investigation into **X** over **Grok** being used to generate **non-consensual sexual images** of real people, inclu...

Open Happening

ICO review of mobile games under Children’s code

Public Sector Action
First: 02.12.2025 12:30 Last: 02.12.2025 12:30 Sources 1

About this happening: The **ICO** launched a review of **10 popular mobile games**, stepping up public-sector scrutiny of the **mobile gaming sector** over children's privacy risks. The review will ass...

Open Happening

ICO wins Clearview AI UK GDPR fine appeal

Regulatory/Legal Action
First: 09.10.2025 12:30 Last: 09.10.2025 12:30 Sources 1

About this happening: The **Upper Tribunal** upheld the **ICO’s** appeal against **Clearview AI**, making a **£7.5m fine** more likely. The ruling strengthens the regulator’s position that the company’...

Open Happening

Timeline

  1. 08.12.2025 12:30 1 articles · 5mo ago

    NPL report finds demographic bias in Cognitec FaceVACS-DBScan ID v5.5

    Technical Analysis Update

    National Physical Laboratory released a report testing Cognitec FaceVACS-DBScan ID v5.5 for retrospective facial recognition used by police and found that, in a limited set of circumstances, the algorithm was more likely to incorrectly include some demographic groups in search results; the report cited false positive rates of 0.04% for white subjects, 4% for Asian subjects, and 5.5% for black subjects, and said the FPIR for black male subjects (0.4%) was lower than that for black female subjects (9.9%).

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  2. 08.12.2025 12:30 2 articles · 5mo ago

    Home Office buys replacement facial-recognition algorithm after bias findings

    Mitigation Patch Update

    The Home Office said it purchased a new algorithm after the bias findings and said it can be used at settings with no significant demographic variation in performance; it said the replacement is due to be operationally tested early next year and then evaluated. The Information Commissioner’s Office asked the Home Office for urgent clarity to assess the situation, and the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners said mitigations and stronger transparency are needed before retrospective facial recognition is trusted in policing.

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