On the 14th of August a man decided to run his car into the central reservation near the UK parliament building. He was subsequently arrested on suspicion of a terrorism act. The BBC reported it on their website here. They also tweeted the footage of the event from a live aerial camera, where a the presenter states they are “BBC pictures from an aerial camera”.
All fine and good, great that we can see the events as they happen. But how many of these live aerial cameras do the BBC have? Presumably recording all day just in case any newsworthy event may occur.
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| https://bbc.in/2MIiyBT |
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| https://bbc.in/2MIiyBT |
“The BBC does not offer an internal review when the information requested is not covered by the Act. If you disagree with our decision you can appeal to the Information Commissioner.”
- they, presumably, are recording 24/7 – in effect a surveillance camera
- the appropriate CCTV signage should be displayed informing people that they are being recorded
- a Privacy Impact Assessment should have been carried out
- does the BBC use of such camera/s adhere to the Surveillance Camera Commissioner’s ‘Surveillance camera code of practice‘
- it could be argued that the vast majority of the footage is not used for broadcast or journalistic purposes, thereby making the BBC able to answer the FOIR
- if such images help to solve a crime then access could be had by the police and security services
State of Surveillance - S.O.S 