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WORLD NEWS Wednesday 12 February 2020

Robyn Peoples, left, 26, and Sharni Edwards, 27, pose together
after becoming the first same sex couple to marry in Northern
Ireland, in Carrickfergus, Northern Ireland, Tuesday Feb. 11,
2020.
Associated Press
Couple weds in

Northern Ireland's first

same-sex marriage Rights campaigner Silkie Carlo, left, demonstrates in front of a mobile police facial recognition
facility outside a shopping centre in London Tuesday Feb. 11, 2020, “We don't accept this.
Associated Press
en tied the knot Tuesday into line with the rest of the London police deploy face scan
last year to bring the region
LONDON (AP) — Two wom-
same-sex wedding, after effect Jan. 13, with the tech, stirring privacy fears
in Northern Ireland's first country. The change took
the region became the last first weddings able to take
part of the United Kingdom place four weeks later. By KELVIN CHAN warnings from rights groups, made by an officer on the
to legalize gay marriage. U.K. lawmakers acted while AP Business Writer lawmakers and indepen- ground, he said.
Care worker Robyn Peo- Northern Ireland's regional LONDON (AP) — London dent experts about a lack "This is a prompt to them
ples, 26, and waitress Shar- assembly and government police started using facial of accuracy and bias in that that's somebody we
ni Edwards, 27 married at a were suspended amid a recognition cameras on the system and the erosion may want to engage with
ceremony in Carrickfergus, feud between the main Tuesday to automatically of privacy. Activists fear it's and identify," he said.
near Belfast. The couple Irish nationalist and Brit- scan for wanted people, just the start of expanded London's system uses tech-
said they had not intended ish unionist power-sharing as authorities adopt the surveillance. nology from Japan's NEC
to be the first to wed, but parties. The power-sharing technology that has raised "We don't accept this. This to scan faces in the crowds
were thrilled to become administration was restored concerns about increased isn't what you do in a de- to see if they matched any
symbols of change in last month after a three- surveillance and erosion of mocracy. You don't scan on a "watchlist" of 5,000
Northern Ireland. year hiatus. But even if privacy. Surveillance cam- people's faces with cam- faces created specifically
"We fought so long and Northern Ireland lawmak- eras mounted on a blue eras. This is something you for Tuesday's operation.
hard for this opportunity to ers wanted to, they could police van monitored peo- do in China, not in the U.K.," The watchlist images are
be seen as equal and now not easily overturn the mar- ple coming out of a shop- said Silkie Carlo, director of mainly of people wanted
we are here and it's just riage law made by Parlia- ping center in Stratford, in privacy campaign group by the police or courts for
amazing," said Robyn. She ment in London. east London. Signs warned Big Brother Watch. serious crimes like attempt-
and her wife both took the British lawmakers also vot- that police were using the Britain has a strong tradition ed murder, McEwan said.
married name Edwards- ed last year to expand technology to find people of upholding civil liberties London police say that
Peoples. Northern Ireland's access to abortion, which "wanted for serious crimes." and of not allowing police in trials, the technology
legislature did not follow had been severely restrict- Officers stood nearby, ex- to arbitrarily stop and iden- correctly identified 7 in
the British and Scottish par- ed in Northern Ireland. plaining to passers-by how tify people, she said. "This 10 wanted people who
liaments in allowing same- Among those who cam- the system works. technology just sweeps all walked by the camera
sex marriages starting in paigned to change the It's the first time London's of that away." while the error rate was 1 in
2014. The socially conser- marriage law was Sara Metropolitan Police Service Police Commander Mark 1,000 people. But an inde-
vative Democratic Union- Canning, whose partner, has used live facial recog- McEwan downplayed con- pendent review found only
ist Party, the biggest group journalist Lyra McKee, was nition cameras in an oper- cerns about the machines eight of 42 matches were
in the Northern Ireland As- killed by gunfire from Irish ational deployment since being unaccountable. verified as correct.
sembly, opposed legaliza- Republican Army dissidents carrying out a series of trials Even if the computer picks Police are "using the latest
tion. But after a campaign as she covered anti-police that ended last year. someone out of a crowd, most up-to-date algorithm
by equal-rights groups, Brit- rioting in Londonderry in London police are using the final decision on wheth- we can get," McEwan said.
ain's Parliament stepped in April 2019.q the technology despite er to investigate further is q