The government is becoming a surveillance society where individuals are filmed hundreds of times a day by security cameras and where firms "data mine" to build customer profiles, the information commissioner said on Thursday.
Richard Thomas said more and more personal information is being collected both by government agencies and commercial organisations and that people need
to be aware of the dangers.
"We are now waking up to a surveillance society. It is not just cameras on the street and things like that -- it is technology monitoring our movements, our activities," Thomas told BBC radio.
"Every time we use a mobile phone, use our credit cards, go online to search on the Internet, go electronic shopping, drive our cars, more and more information is being collected."
Thomas, a government-appointed official who reports to parliament on matters of privacy and public openness, said Britons were leaving an "electronic footprint" and that a debate is needed in order for clear lines to be drawn as to what is acceptable.
The Surveillance Studies Network report said official concerns about terrorism have supported the growth of surveillance which is in danger of leaving almost no actions unmonitored at some level.
Surveillance and data collection, which is expected to grow in the next decade, ranges from the United States monitoring all telecommunications traffic passing through Britain to loan companies tracking people's buying habits.
With 4.2 million CCTV cameras now spread across the country the average Briton is captured about 300 times a day on camera.
EMPLOYEES MONITORED
Companies also increasingly monitor their own employees, whether by tracking their movements in company vehicles via the use of GPS satellites or by counting the number of key strokes they make on their computers.
While Thomas said there were undeniable benefits to the development of the surveillance society, such as the fight against terrorism and crime, there was real concern that unfettered and excessive information harvesting could breed a climate of distrust.
"There are dangers to the integrity of the individual. Our privacy can be invaded," he said.
Thomas said he wanted to generate a debate about the issue and get people thinking about what might happen in the future -- such as CCTV cameras equipped with microphones, unmanned spy-in-the-sky drones and in-car devices that monitor every mile people drive.
"There needs to be a public debate. It is not just about waking up the public, it is waking up the politicians, waking up the civil servants, making sure the police and the other law enforcement bodies are aware there are certain lines that must not be crossed."
dorramae
Heard pn the radio today that britain is the country with the most surveilence in the whole of Europe. one camera for every fourteen people. Apparently some human rights groups are arranging some actions in response to this information.
Sandie Seward
About time too, Dora, we have (or rather, most of us have) walked into this one with our eyes wide open. Now, it's starting to impinge on our everyday life, people are starting to wake up and realise exactly what is happening to our country.
But, I wonder if it's just a bit too late........?
marieann
I was reading about this today. Apparently there is no one without some sort of a file. Even if you didn't belong to the communist party and have a real thick surveillance folder under your name, someone still has your bank details and purchases and camera-sightings, parking fines and incomes.
Sandie Seward
Marie, many years ago, I applied for a posistion as a Clerical Officer with the DHSS as it used to be called. I was invited to take the entrance exam, (which I passed with flying colours), and then for an 'interview'. (Interregation, more like.)
All seemed to be going well until I was asked about my political views, if they had 'changed'. "Changed", I asked, suprised. "Well, they replied, looking at a dossier of papers on the desk, it states here that you were once a member of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament. Is that correct?"
To say that I was astounded, would be an understatement. I admitted that yes, I had been so, for many years. "So would you say that you are a Political Activist then?"
What could I say. I did not get the posistion. They appointed another person who had fared much worse than I in the exam, and I was politly informed by letter, that there was "No posisiton available to me at this time, but my details would be kept for further reference."
Become a member of ANy society that the government deem to be 'subversive', and you are watched for life. Now that I'm involved with the NO2ID Campaign, no doubt they feel 'justified' in watching me, all those years, (almost 30) ago!
marieann
Jobs should be given on ability whether it is a case like yours, which is so petty and vindictive, or skin colour.
That cuts both ways now it is just as discriminatory to refuse a job to a white person, if they are the best qualified, because the employers want a more ethnic mix.
Tricia
I've never been involved in 'questionable' political activity but I've Moslem friends who sometimes send me interesting articles on Islam etc. from the internet and elsewhere so no doubt I'm down on someone's file somewhere.
We should all wake up and say 'ENOUGH' before it's too late. No matter that they try to assure us that the general public have nothing to worry about, the government's record is hardly likely to set our minds at rest as to what use they can put any information to, either now or in the future.
