CRISP report underlines fear that UK is heading into a biometric safety vacuum

Fraser Sampson remains unhappy with the UK government’s stance on privacy, comparing the decision to abolish his office and remove safeguards around biometrics and public surveillance to wanton destruction of public property.

As quoted in Tech Monitor, the outgoing Biometrics and Surveillance Camera Commissioner (BSCC) calls the decision to lean away from regulation at a crucial time in the evolution of threats to privacy is shocking, and “tantamount to vandalism.” In a separate report in The Record, Sampson says “the loss of regulation and oversight in this key area comes just as the evolution of AI-driven biometric surveillance makes it more important than ever.”

Sampson was appointed to his post in 2021. He formally stepped down in August of this year.

Changes under the UK’s new Data Protection and Digital Information bill, which replaces the EU GDPR following Brexit, will eliminate the office of the BSCC and replace the commissioner with a “Forensic Information Database Strategy Board.” Although the legislation is currently before Parliament and expected to take effect next year, the pending policy shift has already led to the dissolution of the Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation’s (CDEI) independent advisory board on AI.

Fraser Sampson is not alone in expressing concern about the potential outcomes. A new report from the Centre for Research into Information Surveillance and Privacy (CRISP) echoes his fear that the changes will leave a vacuum in policy dictating the use of biometric technology at the worst time. Albeit, the report, which is to be published this week, was commissioned by the BSCC in tandem with the Home Office, and authored by Professors Pete Fussey and William Webster.

“The current moment is a time of accelerated innovation in the scale and capability of surveillance technology,” reads the report. “This is particularly heralded by advancements in biometric surveillance. Concerns have simultaneously arisen over surveillance technologies (and AI in general) to the extent that they have now become mainstream issues. These issues are not going to go away.”

Specifically, the report points to police handling of DNA samples and biometric identifiers as an area that will be left devoid of oversight, as well as governance and standards oversight for many public surveillance systems, including those that make use of facial recognition.

Article Topics

biometric identification  |  biometrics  |  Biometrics and Surveillance Camera Commissioner  |  regulation  |  UK  |  video surveillance