Excessive surveillance 'erodes trust', Government warned

Summary

Surveillance is defined as the use of monitoring and recording technology, along with the creation and use of databases of personal information, and the record of communications in the digital age. The potential for surveillance of citizens in public spaces and private communications has increased dramatically over the last decade, making it possible for what the Information Commissioner calls 'the electronic footprint' people leave in their daily lives to be built up into a detailed picture of activities.

This Report from the Home Affairs Committee, 'A Surveillance Society?' (HC 58-I), examines the benefits of surveillance in terms of public safety and public services, and the risks in terms of the consequences of mistakes, misidentification, and loss of sensitive information.

The Committee's conclusions and recommendations include:

In the design of its policies and systems for collecting data, the Government should adopt a principle of data minimisation: it should collect only what is essential, to be stored only for as long as is necessary.
The Government should give proper consideration to the risks associated with excessive surveillance. Loss of privacy through excessive surveillance erodes trust between the individual and the Government and can change the nature of the relationship between citizen and state. The report sets out a series of ground rules for Government and its agencies to build and preserve trust.
The Government should make full use of technical means of protecting personal information and preventing unwarranted monitoring of individuals' activities.
The Government should carry out rigorous risk analysis of any proposal to establish major new databases or other systems for collecting data, take full responsibility for protecting personal information, and ensure that its policies and procedures in relation to data collection and storage are as transparent as possible.

Found this story interesting?
Spread the news by clicking below to add it to your bookmarking service: