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A large number of surveillence cameras on a wall. All are pointing in the same direction and are looking at two people.
Southern Co-Op face complaints over use of Biometric scanners

This month Big Brother Watch and the data rights firm AWO filed a complaint to the Information Commissioners Office (ICO) regarding Southern Co-Op’s use of biometric scanning in several of their stores. This system has been implemented in 35 of Southern Co-Op’s 200+ stores, and is used (according to the Co-Op) to protect customers and colleagues in stores where there has been regular crime. Both Big Brother Watch and AWO have raised significant concerns regarding the application of the system, which is sold by the firm Facewatch.

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Grafitti of a surveillance camera on a concrete wall with the text 'for your safety & our curiosity'.
Safeguarding gone wrong? Project Alpha and the accidental weaponisation of personal data

The recently released data protection impact assessment for a Met Police scheme has caused concertation amongst privacy groups and human rights activists as potential large scale profiling of children's data has been further compounded by allegations of racial bias. Entitled 'Project Alpha', this scheme has proven a useful example of how personal data collected for safeguarding can be accidentally or deliberately weaponised.

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A photo of Euro and US Dollar notes.
Third Time’s the Charm? Why Privacy Professionals are sceptical of ‘Privacy Shield 2.0’

On March 25th 2022, amidst wider discussions on US-EU cooperation, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and US President Joe Biden announced an ‘agreement in principle’ on a new EU-US data sharing system termed the Trans-Atlantic Data Privacy Framework. Yet rather than relief, the announcement has been met with pronounced scepticism by privacy professionals in Europe. The emerging discourse is a product of a difficult relationship between its political ideals and practical realities.

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