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Facial recognition tech would save Aussies $2.2 billion - so is it a good idea?

Source: APP, 26/10/2019

The government suffered a setback this week after a parliamentary
committee scrutinising its legislation called for greater safeguards
Senator Paul Scarr said the intelligence and security committee, made up
of MPs and senators from both sides of the political divide, did its
homework and came back with some measured recommendations.
`The government will be looking at the recommendations of the committee
and working with the committee to progress the legislation,` the
Queensland senator told ABC television on Saturday.
`There was no intention through this legislation to introduce mass
surveillance,` he said, adding that something needs to be done to prevent
identity theft, which affects one in 20 Australians each year.
Labor frontbencher Andrew Giles said the legislation would allow the
Department of Home Affairs to obtain facial images from state driver`s
licence databases.
Mr Giles said this is `more overreach` from Home Affairs Minister Peter
Dutton.
A parliamentary committee wants more safeguards in the government`s facial
recognition legislation. Credit: EPA
`The onus should be on the minister and the government to clearly
articulate what they`re doing and why,` Mr Giles told ABC television.
He said the parliament is always trying to strike the balance between
ensuring Australians are kept safe while protecting privacy and civil
liberties.
`It appears no such consideration took place by the government before
introducing this bill,` he said.
Australia is not the only country wary of facial recognition technology,
with a new survey in the UK finding almost two in three Britons disagree
with police using such technology.
The technology uses surveillance cameras equipped with facial recognition
software to scan passers-by in public spaces, using artificial
intelligence to compare them to watch-lists of people being sought by
police.
www.vsoftsystems.co.za

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