UK Data Protection & Digital Information (No.2) Bill

The Commissioner has today welcomed the publication of the Independent Report on the impact of changes to the functions of the Biometrics and Surveillance Camera Commissioner for England and Wales arising from the above Bill. The Bill abolishes the role of the Biometrics and Surveillance Camera Commissioner in England and Wales at a time when the UK is witnessing an unprecedented acceleration in the capability and reach of biometric enabled mass public surveillance technologies.

The report by the Centre for Research into Information Surveillance and Privacy (CRISP) analyses the likely effect of abolishing the roles of the Commissioner for England and Wales including the requirement to publish a surveillance camera code of practice. The report highlights a worrying vacuum in the arrangements for overseeing and regulating the reach of biometric enabled mass public surveillance technologies, and in the independent oversight of the police use of fingerprints and DNA in England and Wales.

This contrasts with the approach in Scotland, where in November 2022, the Scottish Parliament approved the Scottish Biometrics Commissioner’s statutory Code of Practice. The Scottish approach ensures that biometric data collected for policing and criminal justice purposes is lawful, ethical and proportionate, and that an appropriate balance is maintained between the needs of law enforcement, and the rights of citizens.