How Algorithmic Policing Challenges Fundamental Rights Protection in the EU: Lessons From the United Kingdom

Abstract

This chapter seeks to evaluate the regulatory landscape of algorithmic policing in the UK and Europe, with three purposes in mind.

Firstly, it defines algorithmic policing by sketching out the current and policy context of the development, deployment, and use of these tools by police in the United Kingdom, which is becoming increasingly prevalent.

Secondly, it presents and works through two significant regulatory challenges relating to algorithmic policing, using the examples of tools deployed and used in the UK: the ‘naming’ and ‘claiming’ fundamental rights. It demonstrates that algorithmic policing tools have a reach beyond law enforcement as such, incorporating wider administrative agencies into policing practices, and vice-versa, whereby tools may be presented as benevolent or beneficial to those being algorithmically profiled and/or evaluated. It argues that complex webs of administrative relationships developed as part of these programmes, both technical and institutional, further complicate the already-complicated process of ‘naming’ and ‘claiming’ fundamental rights within an algorithmic decision-making process.

Thirdly, using the examples of tools already deployed in the UK, the chapter evaluates the potential effectiveness of the AI Act as a regulatory mechanism for the protection of fundamental rights through the lens of ‘naming’ and ‘claiming.’ It asks whether the AI Act might be a quite blunt measure that fails to fully capture the full range of applications of algorithmic policing, which in its current form does not provide appropriate fundamental rights protection, particularly because it hinders the ability of affected persons to challenge decisions and achieve redress. It finishes with policy recommendations aimed at improving fundamental rights protection in the context of algorithmic policing, specifically targeted at the ongoing development and negotiation of the AI Act.

Keywords: Algorithmic Policing, AI Act, Fundamental Rights, Administrative Law, AI Regulation