Home Office concedes Britain likely to become a surveillance state
Britain is on track to become a society in which its citizens are tracked and monitored via unmanned spy drones, facial recognition CCTV and profiling through social networking sites, the Home Office has conceded.
Faced with the quickening pace of technological development Ministers have claim that their election pledge to roll back the surveillance state will make it increasingly difficult to prevent such measures from becoming commonplace.
The warnings coincides with publication of consultation on plans for a code of practice to govern the introduction of such technologies, which includes giving the public the right to take councils to court if they believe CCTV surveillance is becoming too intrusive.
The Protection of Freedoms Bill will see a new Security Camera Commissioner established to vet a new breed of HD, 360 degree vision, zoom lens cameras equipped with facial recognition software didn’t overstep the mark.
Unmanned aerial drones were also looked at with the report stating “ there is scope for their unchecked proliferation and attendant risks if they are not considered within any overarching strategy”.
There are presently four million CCTV cameras in operation in the UK – one for every 14 citizens.