Surveillance camera technology: ethical and security issues
Published 10 July 2023
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Office of the Biometrics and Surveillance Camera Commissioner
2 Marsham Street
London
SW1P 4DF
The Rt Hon Jeremy Quin MP
Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
70 Whitehall
London
SW1A 2AS
Copied to: the Rt Hon Chris Philp MP, Minister for Crime and Policing and the Rt Hon Tom Tugendhat MP, Minister for Security.
Dear Minister,
Surveillance Camera Technology: ethical and security issues
I met the Policing Minister yesterday to discuss the Surveillance Camera Code, security and ethical issues in the use of surveillance camera technology, and Artificial Intelligence in the same sphere, and their collective impact on public trust and confidence in the legitimate use of new surveillance technology.
During our discussion I raised the fact that many responsible and experienced voices have indicated a need for a review of public space surveillance. This was in the context of the recent Panorama programme of 26 June entitled ‘Is China watching you?’, and my previous engagement with the Cabinet Office and Vincent Devine, the Government Chief Security Officer, pressing the government to address the presence of these systems on its estate. You may recall that we explored these issues briefly during your tenure as Policing Minister, and that the former Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster subsequently made a statement last November instructing departments “to cease deployment of such [visual surveillance] equipment onto sensitive sites, where it is produced by companies subject to the National Intelligence Law of the People’s Republic of China”.
Having recently conducted a survey of the police[footnote 1] and local authorities’[footnote 2] use of similar technology, I too am of the view that a review is needed, if only to answer the question being asked of us on a daily basis: “just how many of these cameras are pointed at us?”. Having had the benefit of a meeting to discuss these issues in the context of their impact on critical national infrastructure and national security with the Security Minister last year, I now believe the need for a review is supported by the evidenced risks, and the Policing Minister agreed that I would seek an early meeting with you to discuss how such a review might be taken forward.
Yours sincerely,
[signed]
Professor Fraser Sampson
Biometrics and Surveillance Camera Commissioner