THE WAPI NEWS – “ROUNDUP”
WAPI Member Notice: Data Protection and Facial Recognition
A parliamentary question tabled on 9 October asks what ICO guidance applies to private investigators—including registration, personal-data processing and whether investigators should adopt the ABI’s ICO-approved UK GDPR Code.
This is a question awaiting an answer, not a change in law or an endorsement making the voluntary Code compulsory.
The Government’s response is due on 13 October and WAPI will review it. (questions-statements.parliament.uk, ico.org.uk)
Separately, updated Home Office policy confirms Immigration Enforcement’s use of facial recognition. It does not authorise private investigators to use the technology.
For private-sector use, facial images used for identification will usually be special-category biometric data, requiring a lawful basis, an Article 9 condition and normally a DPIA. (gov.uk, ico.org.uk)