{"id":1436650,"date":"2023-11-01T07:30:00","date_gmt":"2023-11-01T11:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/?p=1436650"},"modified":"2023-11-01T07:30:00","modified_gmt":"2023-11-01T11:30:00","slug":"big-brother-unchained-uk-govt-to-abolish-biometrics-surveillance-safeguards-as-it-embraces-facial-recognition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/big-brother-unchained-uk-govt-to-abolish-biometrics-surveillance-safeguards-as-it-embraces-facial-recognition\/1436650\/","title":{"rendered":"Big Brother Unchained: UK Govt To Abolish Biometrics & Surveillance Safeguards As It Embraces Facial Recognition"},"content":{"rendered":"

Big Brother Unchained: UK Govt To Abolish Biometrics & Surveillance Safeguards As It Embraces Facial Recognition<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Authored by Nick Corbishley via NakedCapitalism.com,<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cThe lack of attention being paid to [public safeguards]<\/strong>\u00a0at such a crucial time is shocking, and destruction of the surveillance camera code that we\u2019ve all been using successfully for over a decade is tantamount to vandalism.\u201d<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

The United Kingdom is at the leading edge of many of the digital authoritarian trends sweeping ostensibly democratic nations. In one of the many dark ironies of our age, it is the government of George Orwell\u2019s native Britain that is seeking to massively escalate its deployment of live facial recognition (LFR) technologies, despite the concerns raised about its potential impact. In late September, 180 rights groups and tech experts called on governments around the world to halt their use of facial recognition surveillance.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

On the other side of the English channel, the EU Parliament has voted for a blanket ban on the use of LFR in public spaces, as too have some US cities. By contrast, the UK government is escalating its deployment of the controversial surveillance technology.<\/p>\n

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, the son-in-law of Indian tech billionaire N R Narayana Murthy, is determined to transform the UK into a world leader in AI governance. <\/strong>Said governance apparently involves gutting many of the limited safeguards protecting the public from the potential downsides and dangers of AI, of which there are many. This, of course, is no accident; if there was any time the British public needed those safeguards, it would be right now, as the government unleashes facial recognition technologies across the urban landscape.<\/p>\n

As we reported in early August, live facial recognition (LFR) surveillance, where people\u2019s faces are biometrically scanned by cameras in real-time and checked against a database, is being used by an increasing number of UK retailers amid a sharp upsurge in shoplifting \u2014 with the blessing, of course, of the UK government. Police forces are also being urged to step up their use of LFR. The technology has also been deployed at the Coronation of King Charles III, sports events including Formula 1, and concerts, despite ongoing concerns about its accuracy as well as the huge ethical and privacy issues it raises.<\/p>\n

According to the UK government, this is all about fighting crime:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2696\ufe0f Police are using innovative technology, like facial recognition, to fight crime, apprehend offenders and protect the public.<\/p>\n

We are encouraging police to double the number of searches made using AI-enabled retrospective facial recognition by May 2024. pic.twitter.com\/Z7o1Ge0W3V<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Home Office (@ukhomeoffice) October 30, 2023<\/a><\/p>\n

But research by Big Brother Watch, a London-based civil rights and privacy organisation, found that more than 89% of UK police facial recognition alerts to date have\u00a0wrongly<\/em>\u00a0identified members of the public as people of interest.<\/strong> The (likely) real object of the government\u2019s interest is not shoplifters, but rather political activists, as a recent article in the Guardian hinted:<\/p>\n

[D]ocuments obtained through a freedom of information request revealed that two-thirds of people on a secret watchlist drawn up by Northamptonshire police were not wanted for arrest or suspected of \u201ccriminal activity\u201d, prompting campaigners to believe that the majority are likely to have been protesters.<\/p>\n

Of 790 names on the watchlist, just 234 people were \u201cwanted for arrest, either on a warrant and\/or suspicion of criminal activity\u201d, with 556 others not wanted for arrest.<\/p>\n

Critics say using biometric surveillance could impinge on a person\u2019s \u201cfreedom of expression\u201d and deter people from protesting. Madeleine Stone, senior advocacy officer at Big Brother Watch, said: \u201cLive facial recognition is a dystopian mass surveillance tool that turns streets into police lineups..\u201d<\/p>\n

But the government is not stopping there. <\/strong>Its new\u00a0Data Protection and Digital Information Act<\/a>, expected to become law in the Spring of 2024, seeks to abolish the roles of the Biometrics and Surveillance Camera Commission (BSCC), an independent advisory board that was, to some extent, helping to hold the public sector to account for its use of AI. The BSCC\u2019s oversight functions include:<\/p>\n

Reviewing police handling of DNA samples, DNA profiles and fingerprints.<\/p>\n

Maintaining an up-to-date surveillance camera code of practice with standards and guidance for practitioners.<\/p>\n

Setting out technical and governance matters for most public body surveillance systems.<\/p>\n

Providing guidance on technical and procurement matters to ensure that future surveillance systems are of the right standard and purchased from reliable suppliers.<\/p>\n

In its bid to eliminate the BSCC, the government clearly wants to have even freer reign to surveil and control the lives of British. The outgoing Biometrics and Surveillance Camera Commissioner, Professor Fraser Sampson, who leaves his post today (Oct. 31) with no replacement lined up,\u00a0described<\/a>\u00a0the government\u2019s latest move as \u201cshocking\u201d and \u201ctantamount to vandalism\u201d:<\/p>\n

After receiving this report, I am more concerned than ever that, unless the government acts soon, there will be a worrying vacuum in our arrangements for overseeing and regulating these crucial areas of public life just when society needs those safeguards more than ever.<\/p>\n

The lack of attention being paid to these important matters at such a crucial time is shocking, and destruction of the surveillance camera code that we\u2019ve all been using successfully for over a decade is tantamount to vandalism\u2026<\/p>\n

There is no question that AI-driven biometric surveillance can be intrusive, and that the line between what is private and public surveillance is becoming increasingly blurred. The technology is among us already and the speed of change is dizzying with powerful capabilities evolving and combining in novel and challenging ways\u2026<\/p>\n

As proposed, the bill would remove the role of the independent commissioner providing oversight over biometrics databases, replacing it with a \u201cForensic Information Database Strategy Board.\u201d The legislation does not make clear whether this board will be independent from government. It also allows the Secretary of State to change the databases which the board is required to oversee using statutory instruments, a form of secondary legislation that bypasses parliamentary votes.<\/p>\n

This follows an\u00a0announcement<\/a>\u00a0last month by the Minister of Policing Chris Filip of plans to create a vast facial recognition database out of passport photos of people in the UK.<\/strong> It is as brazen and as egregious an example of mission creep as you\u2019re likely to find. At present, photos on the police national database are limited to individuals who have been arrested. The police can also check images from doorbell and dashcam technologies, as well as home and business security cameras. But it could soon have its hands on the photos of 45.7 million passport holders.<\/p>\n

\u201cPhilp\u2019s plan to subvert Brits\u2019 passport photos into a giant police database is Orwellian and a gross violation of British privacy principles,”<\/strong> said<\/a>\u00a0Silkie Carlo, director of the civil liberties and privacy campaigning organisation Big Brother Watch:<\/p>\n

It means that over 45 million of us with passports who gave our images for travel purposes will, without any kind of consent or the ability to object, be part of secret police lineups. To scan the population\u2019s photos with highly inaccurate facial recognition technology and treat us like suspects is an outrageous assault on our privacy that totally overlooks the real reasons for shoplifting. Philp should concentrate on fixing broken policing rather than building an automated surveillance state.<\/p>\n

Sampson reserved particular scorn for the government\u2019s decision to eliminate the UK\u2019s surveillance camera code, which, like other safeguards such as the BSCC, was created just over a decade ago by David Cameron\u2019s coalition government:<\/p>\n

The planned loss of the surveillance camera code is a good example of what will be lost if nothing is done.\u00a0 It is the only legal instrument we have in this country that specifically governs public space surveillance. It is widely respected by the police, local authorities and the surveillance industry in general. It\u2019s in one of those things that would have to be invented it didn\u2019t already exist, so it seems absolutely senseless to destroy it now, junking the years of hard work it took to get it established.<\/p>\n

A\u00a0report<\/a>\u00a0by the Centre for Research into Information Surveillance and Privacy (CRISP), a collaborative initiative between the University of Stirling\u2019s Management School, the University of St Andrews School of Management, and the University of Edinburgh\u2019s School of Social and Political Sciences and School of Law, reached a similar conclusion, arguing that the code is widely valued among security and surveillance practitioners. Of the industry experts consulted, Alex Carmichael, from the Security Systems and Alarms Inspection Board, said:<\/p>\n

Without the Surveillance Camera Commissioner you will go back to the old days when it was like the \u2018wild west\u2019, which means you can do anything with surveillance cameras so long as you don\u2019t annoy the Information Commissioner\u2026so, there will not be anyone looking at new emerging technologies, looking at their technical requirements or impacts, no one thinking about ethical implications for emerging technologies like face-recognition, it will be a free-for-all.<\/p>\n

It would be bad enough if this were happening in isolation, but it isn\u2019t. <\/strong>The UK government has also passed the Online Safety Bill, prompting many messaging apps to\u00a0threaten<\/a>\u00a0to leave the UK due to the potential threat it poses to end-to-end encryption. It has granted police new powers to shut down protests as well as\u00a0force<\/a>\u00a0employees to work during industrial action \u2013 or face being sacked. Police forces are also\u00a0resorting<\/a>\u00a0to Section 60AA to require protesters to remove any item being worn for the purpose of concealing their identity. In other words, smile for the cameras!<\/p>\n

Together with the Bank of England, the government is\u00a0pushing hard<\/a>\u00a0for the creation of a \u201cdigital pound\u201d to replace cash, once again\u00a0ignoring<\/a>\u00a0the public\u2019s deep-seated concerns about the ethical and privacy implications, not to mention their enduring affection for cash. It is also also\u00a0seriously considering<\/a>\u00a0handing over full management of the National Health Service\u2019s federated data platform to Palantir, a US tech giant with intimate ties to defense, intelligence and security industries around the world and whose founder Peter Thiel recently described the UK public\u2019s affection for the NHS as Stockholm Syndrome.<\/p>\n

Sadly, most of these trends \u2014 particularly the tech-enabled drift toward authoritarianism and centralised technocracy \u2014 are generalised among the ostensibly democratic nations of the so-called \u201cFree West.\u201d And as I noted at the beginning of this post, the UK is at the leading edge of almost all of them.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Tyler Durden<\/a><\/span>
\nWed, 11\/01\/2023 – 03:30<\/span><\/p>\n

\u200bhttps:\/\/www.zerohedge.com\/political\/big-brother-unchained-uk-govt-abolish-biometrics-surveillance-safeguards-it-embraces<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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