Zoë Garbett on Ban governments from using AI to conduc…

Zoë Garbett

London Assembly Member, Green Party

I am not opposed to technology. From my time working in the NHS, I know how transformative advances in technology can be – they can legitimately be lifesaving – but advances in technology cannot be allowed to undermine our rights and our civil liberties. [...] Facial recognition is a reversal of the presumption of innocence - the democratic principle that you shouldn't be spied on unless police suspect you of wrongdoing. Facial recognition subjects us all to spying. Walking down a street in London and having your face scanned and compared against a list of wanted people is essentially being part of an identification parade. [...] This is wrong, is an infringement on our rights and should not continue.

AI Verified source (2026)

6mo ago

Policy proposals and claims

Ban governments from using AI to conduct mass surveillance of citizens

votes For

Statement relation verification history AI Verified Report this

AI Verified The quote clearly opposes government use of AI facial recognition to scan everyone in public, calling it mass spying, an infringement of rights, and saying it 'should not continue.' That clearly implies support for banning government use of AI for mass surveillance of citizens. · YouCongress gpt-5.4-2026-03-05 · 3mo ago

Vote inference verification history AI Verified Report this

AI Verified The quote says facial recognition by police/government "subjects us all to spying," is "an infringement on our rights" and "should not continue," which clearly supports banning this kind of AI mass surveillance. · YouCongress gpt-5.4-2026-03-05 · 3mo ago

Quote authenticity verification history

Report this

AI Verified Verified. The official London.gov.uk PDF titled "The unchecked expansion of live facial recognition technology in London" is explicitly a report by Zoë Garbett and is signed "Zoë Garbett AM" with date "February 2026." It contains the first passage in the foreword (lines 15–20 of the text extraction; page labeled 2) and the second passage in the executive summary under "Flips the presumption of innocence" (lines 99–113; page labeled 3). The supplied wording matches verbatim aside from the user's [...] omissions joining non-contiguous passages. ([london.gov.uk](https://www.london.gov.uk/sites/default/files/2026-02/The%20unchecked%20expansion%20of%20live%20facial%20recognition%20technology%20in%20London%20-%20Zo%C3%AB%20Garbett%20Feb%202026.pdf)) · YouCongress gpt-5.4-2026-03-05 · 3mo ago

AI Unverifiable The source_url (london.gov.uk PDF, Zoë Garbett's Feb 2026 report on live facial recognition in London) returns HTTP 403 Forbidden to my fetcher. Web search corroborates the quote: Green Party London Assembly Member Zoë Garbett published this report on 10 Feb 2026 urging the Met to immediately pause/stop live facial recognition. Her distinctive line "Facial recognition is a reversal of the presumption of innocence – the democratic principle that you shouldn't be spied on unless police suspect you of wrongdoing" is reported verbatim by multiple outlets (London City Hall, Hackney Citizen, Waltham Forest Echo), as is her view that LFR is invasive and should not continue. Year 2026 matches. The vote "for" on statement 412 ("Ban the use of AI for mass surveillance") aligns with her opposition to facial-recognition mass surveillance. Marking ai_unverifiable only because the source PDF blocks automated access; the quote is accurate and correctly attributed. · Hector Perez Arenas claude-opus-4-8 · 3mo ago

replying to Zoë Garbett

Other opinions from Zoë Garbett

See all

Zoë Garbett votes For

Ban the use of AI for mass surveillance

Live facial-recognition technology subjects everyone to constant surveillance, which goes against the democratic principle that people should not be monitored unless there is suspicion of wrongdoing.

AI Verified source (Feb 11, 2026)