Some law enforcement agencies in Canada are utilizing facial recognition technology to assist in solving crimes, while others are refraining from adopting the powerful digital tools due to concerns about human rights and privacy. The varying implementation of the technology and the lack of clear regulations have prompted legal and AI experts to urge the federal government to establish national standards.
Kristen Thomasen, a law professor at the University of British Columbia, advocates for a moratorium or restrictions on the use of facial recognition technology until the risks associated with its usage are better understood. The fragmented regulations surrounding biometric technologies have resulted in disparities in the protection of privacy rights among citizens.
Facial recognition systems, powered by artificial intelligence, analyze images or videos of individuals’ faces to match them with existing database records. These systems have sparked controversy when used by law enforcement agencies. The RCMP and Toronto police faced backlash for using facial recognition technology without public disclosure, sourced from Clearview AI, a U.S. company known for scraping billions of images from the internet without consent.
Recently, York and Peel Police in Ontario announced the deployment of facial recognition technology from Idemia, a multinational French company. Constable Kevin Nebrija of York Police highlighted the technology’s role in expediting investigations and identifying suspects promptly. Despite concerns, Nebrija assured that privacy standards remained unchanged due to the prevalence of security cameras.
Conversely, Montreal Police Chief Fady Dagher in Quebec expressed reluctance to adopt biometric tools without thorough deliberation on human rights and privacy implications. While York police claim to seek judicial authorization for image acquisition, Kate Robertson from the University of Toronto’s Citizen Lab noted a historical lack of prior judicial approval for facial recognition technology usage by Canadian police forces.
Although the federal government lacks direct oversight over provincial and municipal police forces, it can introduce legislative amendments to regulate facial recognition software, similar to laws governing surveillance technologies. Calls from privacy commissioners emphasize the need for a legal framework outlining the appropriate use of facial recognition technology, including oversight mechanisms and limitations on data retention.
Furthermore, the Economic Development Department suggested that existing laws, such as the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA), could potentially regulate corporate data collection practices, including the use of facial recognition technology. Despite these recommendations, concerns persist regarding the lack of governance and transparency in the procurement of such technologies by law enforcement agencies across the country.
