Andrew Rennison said there could be a public backlash if the use of HD cameras and facial recognition systems was given free rein in UK public spaces.
“The technology has overtaken our ability to regulate it,” he told the Independent. “I’m convinced that if we don’t regulate it properly – i.e. the technological ability to use millions of images we capture – there will be a huge public backlash. It is the Big Brother scenario playing out large. It’s the ability to pick out your face in a crowd from a camera which is probably half a mile away.”
The rapid advancement of digital technology meant that 16-magapixel HD cameras were now very affordable, he said, and so cameras with huge optical and digital zoom power were being installed.
“A tiny camera in a dome with a 360-degree view can capture your face in the crowd, and there are now the algorithms that run in the background. I’ve seen the test reviews that show there’s a high success rate of picking out your face against a database of known faces.”
Mr Rennison is the UK’s first surveillance camera commissioner. He will oversee a new code of practice on CCTV, due to come into effect next April, setting out principles for the use of camera systems and promoting technical and occupational standards.
On taking up his post last month Mr Rennison said:
“Through the code I believe we can greatly increase the public’s awareness of the type of surveillance taking place around them every day, and encourage greater openness among those operating CCTV and ANPR systems. At the same time we want to set robust standards for surveillance systems, to increase image quality so the police can catch more criminals.”
Responding to Mr Rennison’s remarks in the Independent, campaign group Big Brother Watch said:
“The commissioner is absolutely right to warn about the risks of new CCTV technology. However, the Home Office has undermined the commissioner from the start by giving him absolutely no powers to act when he views that wrongdoing may have occurred.
“Proper regulation of CCTV needs someone to have the power to inspect cameras and punish those breaking the law. If the Home Office is serious about this issue then the surveillance camera commissioner needs proper powers to protect our privacy.”
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