8 in 10 Brits support biometrics, personal data collection for national security

The majority of UK adults – 79 percent – support national security agencies collecting and processing personal data to investigate terrorism and serious crime.

That’s according to new research by the Centre for Emerging Technology and Security (CETaS) at The Alan Turing Institute, in collaboration with Savanta and Hopkins Van Mil. It is the first study of its kind to examine public trust in UK intelligence agencies’ use of data.

The new study incorporates a representative survey of more than 3,000 UK adults alongside a citizens’ panel and measured public attitudes to national security agencies processing personal data. Public support was not universal and varied according to context. For example, 28 percent are opposed to personal data being used to train a new automated tool for predicting future behaviors.

Rosamund Powell, research associate at The Alan Turing Institute, commented: “It demonstrates that there is not just one public perspective on privacy, and that agencies must continue to seek a nuanced understanding of the factors that shape public preferences in order to ensure that data processing remains proportionate in the eyes of the public.”

The research also looked at public support for processing a range of datasets for a “person of interest” to security services or police, which includes public posts on social media, biometric data, identifiable medical data and private text messages, among others.

The research found 75 percent support national security agencies collecting and processing personal data to detect foreign spies. But only 52 percent support data collection and processing to shape long-term strategies and policies of national security agencies, and 42 percent support its use to create automated tools to predict future behaviors, and only 28 percent support it in the context of sharing with commercial organizations.

It is notable that support varies according to age and demographics. Young adults and vulnerable adults tend to be less supportive of national security data processing compared to other groups. Only 49 percent of 18-34 year olds support national security agencies processing public posts on social media sites, compared to 61 percent amongst those above age 55. Support was 52 percent from vulnerable adults and 62 percent for non-vulnerable.

Sir Brian Leveson, Investigatory Powers Commissioner, said: “I welcome this opportunity to deepen our understanding of public attitudes to UK national security and hope this research will provide a foundation for balanced dialogue and informed decision-making.”

Article Topics

biometric data  |  biometric identifiers  |  biometrics  |  law enforcement  |  national security  |  terrorism  |  Turing Institute  |  UK