On 4 September 2019, the High Court in England and Wales rejected a judicial review claim brought by Edward Bridges, a civil liberties campaigner (the “Claimant“) regarding the use of automated facial-recognition technology (“AFR“) by the Chief Constable of South Wales Police’s (“SWP“). The High Court dismissed claims that the use of AFR by SWP breached UK data protection laws and was contrary to the European Convention on Human Rights. The High Court determined that the use of AFR constituted the processing of biometric data but that the SWP had established lawful grounds and had met the other legal requirements to process it.
