Wind of change turning against CCTV?

Story link: Wind of change turning against CCTV? by Jan Harris

It is a well known fact that British citizens are the most monitored in the world, with an estimated four million CCTV cameras watching us every day, as well as the increasing accumulation of personal data by the government.

While many people welcome the use of technologies such as CCTV and believe that it helps to increase personal safety, there is a growing movement to question the gradual erosion of privacy that such technologies bring.

Today, the Liberal Democrats launched a freedom bill in the House of Commons, which is designed to roll back what they see as the government’s gradual undermining of civil liberties.

The bill seeks to repeal or amend 20 acts of parliament, and proposes the introduction of regulations for CCTV.

Other proposed changes include abandoning the ID card scheme.

Another event that marks the growing call for less official intrusion into private lives is the Convention on Modern Liberty which will take place at the Institute of Education in London next weekend.

The wide-ranging topics to be discussed include CCTV monitoring, ID cards, detention without trial, and data accumulation by the state.

While a Britain without CCTV cameras doesn’t seem a likely scenario, it could well be that their use will have to be more tightly controlled if public opinion continues to turn against what some people see as a Big Brother society.