Women with darker skin are more than twice as likely to be told their photos fail UK passport rules when they submit them online when compared to lighter-skinned men, according to a BBC investigation. Elaine Owusu, a Black student, said she was wrongly told her mouth looked open each time she uploaded five different photos to the government website. This shows how "systemic racism" can spread. The facial recognition software was used by the Home Office of the British goverment to help users get their passports more quickly. Additionally, Cat Hallam, who describes her complexion as dark-skinned, told the BBC reporters that her photos have been judged to be poor quality which included "there are reflections on your face" and "your image and the background are difficult to tell apart."

UK passport photo checker shows bias against dark-skinned women.

Negligible

Race, Sex

Psychological harm, Harm to civil liberties

The facial recognition algorithm used by the Home Office of the UK Government to identify and check for applicant's passport photos

The Home Office of the UK Government

Administrative and support service activities

Perception, Cognition

Facial recognition

Facial recognition

United Kingdom

Elaine Owusu, The Home Office, Cat Hallam, Alan Turing Institute

The Home Office of the UK Government

10/2020

10/2020

Unclear/unknown

Accident

No

Passport IDs