The use of facial recognition technology by British police force was ruled unlawful by the Court of Appeal in a case brought by a civil rights campaigner. 

According to Court House News, Ed Bridges challenged the South Wales Police's use of the technology after his face was scanned on two separate occasions. He said the technology caused him "distress."

"The judges backed his appeal and ruled there was no clear guidance on where AFR Locate — the technology being trialed by South Wales Police —could be used and who could be put on a watchlist. It also ruled a data protection impact assessment of the technology was deficient and that South Wales Police did not take reasonable steps to find out if the software had a racial or gender bias. The court ruled that 'too much discretion is currently left to individual police officers,'" notes the report.