Research & Briefings

• Written Evidence to the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee’s Inquiry: The Coronavirus Act 2020 Two Years On [Jan 2022]

• Emergency Powers and Civil Liberties Report [Jan-Mar 2022]

• Emergency Powers and Civil Liberties Report [Oct-Dec 2021]

• Big Brother Watch Briefing on the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) (Amendment) (Coronavirus) (No. 2) [December 2021]

• Big Brother Watch Briefing on the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2021 (Amendment No.19) Regulations (Northern Ireland) [December 2021]

• Big Brother Watch Briefing on the Health Protection (Coronavirus Restrictions) (No.5) (Wales) (Amendment) (No.19) Regulations 2021 [November 2021]

• Submission to the Department of Health and Social Care’s ‘Making vaccination a condition of deployment in the health and wider social care sector’ consultation [October 2021]

• Emergency Powers and Civil Liberties Report [Jul-Sep 2021]

• Big Brother Watch Briefing on COVID Vaccine Certification motion for Scottish Parliament 9th Septemmber

• Briefing note on mandatory vaccination for care workers by Professor Lydia Hayes & Professor Allyson Pollock

• Big Brother Watch Briefing on the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) (Amendment)(Coronavirus) Regulations 2021 – House of Lords

• Big Brother Watch Briefing on the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) (Amendment) (Coronavirus) Regulations 2021

• Emergency Powers and Civil Liberties Report [May-Jun 2021]

• Submission to the Department of Health and Social Care’s ‘Making vaccination a condition of deployment in older adult care homes’ consultation [May 2021]

• Written evidence to the Justice Committee’s Inquiry: Covid-19 and the criminal law [Apr 2021]

• Emergency Powers and Civil Liberties Report [Mar-Apr 2021]

• Guest Briefing on Test Certification - Professor Deeks [April 2021]

• Briefing on The Case Against Test Certificates - summary [April 2021]

• ACCESS DENIED: THE CASE AGAINST COVID CERTIFICATION

• Repeal the Coronavirus Act Big Brother Watch Briefing for House of Lords [Mar 2021]

• Briefing on the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (Steps) (England) Regulations 2021 for the House of Commons [Mar 2021]

• Emergency Powers and Civil Liberties Report [Feb 2021]

• Briefing on The Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (All Tiers and Self-Isolation) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2021 for the House of Lords [Feb 2021]

• Briefing on The Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (All Tiers and Self-Isolation) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2021 for the House of Commons [Feb 2021]

• Written evidence to the Joint Committee on Human Rights’ Inquiry: The Government's response to covid-19: human rights implications of long lockdown [Jan 2021]

• Emergency Powers and Civil Liberties Report [Dec 2020 - Jan 2021]

• Briefing on Lockdown 3: the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions)(No.3) and (All Tiers) (England)(Amendment) Regulations 2021 for the House of Commons [Jan 2021]

• Emergency Powers and Civil Liberties Report [November 2020]

• Briefing on Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (All Tiers) (England) Regulations 2020 for the House of Commons [December 2020]

• Emergency Powers and Civil Liberties Report [October 2020]

• Briefing on Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (No. 4) (England) Regulations 2020 for the House of Commons [November 2020]

• Briefing on Health Protection (Self-Isolation) (England) Regulations 2020 for the House of Lords [October 2020]

• Briefing on Health Protection Regulations 2 Amendment 4 for House of Commons [6^th October 2020]

• Briefing on Health Protection Regulations 2 Amendment 4 for House of Lords [6^th October 2020]

• Briefing on The Health Protection (Coronavirus, Collection of Contact Details etc and Related Requirements) Regulations 2020 for the House of Lords [October 2020]

• Emergency Powers and Civil Liberties Report [Aug - Sept 2020]

• Briefing on Covid-19 Emergency Powers for House of Commons General Debate [September 2020]

• Briefing for the House of Lords (Coronavirus) (England) [September 2020]

• Briefing on Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (No. 3) (England) Regulations 2020 for the House of Lords [September 2020]

• Emergency Powers and Civil Liberties Report [July 2020]

• Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) Regulations 2020: Briefing [July 2020]

• Written Evidence to the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee’s Inquiry: Responding to Covid-19 and the Coronavirus Act 2020 [June 2020]

• Emergency Powers and Civil Liberties Report [June 2020]

• Emergency Powers and Civil Liberties Report [May 2020]

• Guest Briefing: Coronavirus and Civil Liberties in the UK — Blackstone Chambers [May 2020]

• Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) Regulations 2020: Briefing [May 2020]

• Emergency Powers and Civil Liberties Report [April 2020]

• Big Brother Watch Briefing on the Coronavirus Bill

Artifial Intelligence (AI) & Algorithms

• Big Brother Watch’s response to the Government’s consultation the ‘A pro-innovation approach to AI regulation’ White Paper

• Big Brother Watch's written evidence to the Science and Technology Committee’s inquiry: Governance of artificial intelligence (AI)

• Algorithmic Decision-Making in the Criminal Justice System — Briefing for short debate in House of Lords

• The Right to Privacy & the Digital Revolution Inquiry — Written evidence to the Joint Committee on Human Rights

• Big Brother Watch’s submission to The Law Society’s ‘Technology and the Law’ Policy Commission

• Algorithms in decision-making inquiry — Big Brother Watch’s written evidence to the Science and Technology Committee

• Implications of AI in the UK — Big Brother Watch’s written evidence to the Lords Select Committee on Artificial Intelligence

Automation and welfare

• Poverty Panopticon: the hidden algorithms shaping Britain’s welfare state

• Big Brother Watch’s submission to the UN Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights

Data Protection

• Big Brother Watch Briefing on the Data (Use and Access) Bill for Committee Stage in the House of Lords

• Big Brother Watch's Briefing on the Data (Use and Access) Bill 2024

• Big Brother Watch's briefing on benefits and financial mass surveillance powers in the DPDI Bill for HoL Committee stage

• Big Brother Watch briefing on benefits and financial mass surveillance powers in the Data Protection and Digital Information Bill for House of Lord Committee Stage

• Big Brother Watch Briefing on the Data Protection and Digital Information Bill for House of Lords Committee Stage

• Big Brother Watch briefing on benefits and financial mass surveillance powers in the Data Protection and Digital Information Bill

• Big Brother Watch Briefing on the Data Protection and Digital Information 2.0 Bill for House of Lords Second Reading

• Big Brother Watch Briefing on the Data Protection and Digital Information 2.0 Bill for House of Commons Report Stage

• Big Brother Watch Briefing on the Data Protection and Digital Information 2.0 Bill for House of Commons Committee Stage

• Big Brother Watch Briefing on the Data Protection and Digital Information 2.0 Bill for House of Commons Second Reading

• Big Brother Watch Briefing on the Data Protection and Digital Information 2.0 Bill for House of Commons Report Stage [November 2023]

• Big Brother Watch Briefing on the Data Protection and Digital Information 2.0 Bill for House of Lords Second Reading [December 2023]

• Data Protection Bill — Briefing for the House of Commons (Report Stage)

• Data Protection Bill — Briefing for the Joint Committee on Human Rights

• Data Protection Bill — Briefing the House of Commons (Committee Stage)

• Data Protection Bill — Briefing for the House of Commons (Second Reading)

Data breaches

• Police Databases

Connected tech

• The Streets Are Watching You: How Billboards Are Spying On You [Oct 2022]

• Big Brother Watch’s written evidence for the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee inquiry into Connected tech: smart or sinister? [Jun 2022]

Workplace Surveillance

• Big Brother Watch Briefing on the Employment Rights Bill for Second Reading in the House of Commons

Online regulations

• Big Brother Watch Response to Ofcom Consultation: Transparency Guidance

• Big Brother Watch Response to Ofcom Consultation: Ofcom’s three-year media literacy strategy

• Big Brother Watch Response to Ofcom Consultation: Protecting children from harms online

• Big Brother Watch response to Ofcom consultation on illegal harms

• Joint civil society briefing for Peers on private messaging - Third Reading

• Joint civil society briefing on encryption for Online Safety Bill for the House of Lords: Second Reading

• ‘Age-gating’ the internet — Joint letter to the Information Commissioner’s Office

• The Right to Privacy & the Digital Revolution Inquiry — Written evidence to the Joint Committee on Human Rights

Free speech online

• Big Brother Watch briefing on Non-Crime Hate Incidents

• Big Brother Watch briefing on the National Security Online Information Team

• Joint civil society briefing for Peers on private messaging and encryption [April 2023]

• Joint civil society briefing for Peers on freedom of expression [April 2023]

• Big Brother Watch’s Briefing on the Online Safety Bill for House of Lords Committee Stage [April 2023]

• Big Brother Watch’s Briefing on the Online Safety Bill for House of Lords Second Reading [February 2023]

• Ministry of Truth: the secretive government units spying on your speech [January 2023]

• Big Brother Watch's response to Ofcom consultation of "First phase of online safety regulation" [January 2023]

• Big Brother Watch's Summary Briefing for the Second Committee Stage in the House of Commons on the Online Safety Bill [December 2022]

• Big Brother Watch’s Briefing on the Online Safety Bill for House of Commons Report Stage [December 2022]

• Big Brother Watch’s Briefing on the Online Safety Bill for House of Commons Report Stage [July 2022]

• Save Online Speech Coalition, Joint Civil Society Briefing for Online Safety Bill: Report Stage [July 2022]

• Save Online Speech Coalition - Online Safety Bill Committee Stage amendment briefing [May 2022]

• Save Online Speech Coalition, joint civil society briefing for Online Safety Bill: Second Reading

• Save Online Speech Coalition, joint civil society briefing for Online Safety Bill: Second Reading

• Big Brother Watch’s Briefing on the Online Safety Bill for House of Commons Second Reading

• DCMS Sub-committee on Online Harms and Disinformation - Call for Evidence - Online safety and online harms[September 2021]

• Big Brother Watch consultation submission - Draft Online Safety Bill Joint Committee call for evidence [September 2021]

• The State of Free Speech Online Report [September 2021]

• Big Brother Watch Response to the Law Commission’s Consultation on Harmful Online Communications: The Criminal Offences [December 2020]

• Briefing on Regulation and prevention of online harms for backbench business debate in the House of Commons [November 2020]

• Big Brother Watch’s response to the Online Harms White Paper Consultation (2019)

• Online Forums Bill 2018 — Briefing for Second Reading

• Social Media Service Providers (Civil Liability and Oversight) Bill 2018 — Briefing for Second ReadingThe Internet: to regulate or not to regulate? — Written evidence to the Communications Committee’s Inquiry

• Careless Whispers: How speech is policed by outdated communications legislation (2015)

Facial Recognition

• Police use of live facial recognition - Q&A briefing

• Private sector use of live facial recognition - Q&A briefing

• Big Brother Watch submission to the Justice and Home Affairs Committee Inquiry on Tackling Shoplifting on live facial recognition in the retail setting (September 2024)

• Big Brother Watch’s written evidence for the Justice and Home Affairs Committee’s Inquiry into Live Facial Recognition (January 2024)

• Big Brother Watch’s briefing to the Joint Committee on Human Rights on the Criminal Justice Bill (February 2024)

• Big Brother Watch’s written evidence for the Justice and Home Affairs Committee’s Inquiry into new technologies and the application of the law [May 2022]

• Big Brother Watch Briefing on facial recognition surveillance (June, 2020)

• Facial Recognition: how policing in Scotland makes use of this technology inquiry — Big Brother Watch and Open Rights Group joint submission to the Scottish Parliament Justice Sub-Committee on Policing

• Joint statement on police and private company use of facial recognition surveillance in the UK

• The work of the Biometrics Commissioner Inquiry (Custody images and facial recognition) — Written evidence to the Science and Technology Committee

• US Oversight Committee — Live facial recognition impact on rights and liberties (22 May 2019)

• Facial recognition and the biometrics strategy — Briefing for the Westminster Hall debate (1 May 2019)

• The Right to Privacy & the Digital Revolution Inquiry — Written evidence to the Joint Committee on Human Rights

• Policing for the future inquiry — Written evidence to the Home Affairs Select Committee

• FaceOff: The Lawless Growth of Facial Recognition in UK Policing (2018)

• Briefing for Short Debate on the use of Facial Recognition Technology in Security and Policing

Digital evidence & mobile phone extractions

• 9 NGOs Response to the Consultation on The Extraction of Information from Electronic Devices Code of Practice [July 2022]

• Report Stage Briefing on digital extraction powers in the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill for the House of Lords [December 2021]

• Committee Stage Briefing on digital extraction powers in the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill (May 2021)

• Digital Strip Searches: The police’s data investigations of victims (July 2019)

• Police demands for sexual violence victims’ digital evidence and personal records — Letter to the Information Commissioner

• The Right to Privacy & the Digital Revolution Inquiry — Written evidence to the Joint Committee on Human Rights

• Disclosure in criminal cases inquiry — Written evidence to the Justice Committee

• Policing for the future inquiry — Written evidence to the Home Affairs Select Committee

• Police Access to Digital Evidence (2017)

Predictive policing, AI and automated-decision-making

• Algorithmic Decision-Making in the Criminal Justice System — Briefing for short debate in House of Lords

• Bias in Algorithmic Decision-Making (Crime and Justice) — Submission to the Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation

• The Right to Privacy & the Digital Revolution Inquiry — Written evidence to the Joint Committee on Human Rights

• Big Brother Watch’s submission to The Law Society’s ‘Technology and the Law’ Policy Commission

• Policing for the future inquiry — Written evidence to the Home Affairs Select Committee

• Algorithms in decision-making inquiry — Big Brother Watch’s written evidence to the Science and Technology Committee

• Implications of AI in the UK — Big Brother Watch’s written evidence to the Lords Select Committee on Artificial Intelligence

Policing protests

• Big Big Brother Watch briefing on the Public Order Bill for House of Commons consideration of Lords amendments [March 2023]

• Big Brother Watch briefing on the Public Order Bill for Report Stage in the House of Lords [January 2023]

• Joint civil society briefing for Report Stage of the Public Order Bill [January 2023]

• Big Brother Watch briefing on the Public Order Bill for House of Lords Committee Stage [November 2022]

• Big Brother Watch briefing on the Public Order Bill for Second Reading in the House of Lords [October 2022]

• Big Brother Watch briefing on the Public Order Bill for House Of Commons Committee Stage [June 2022]

• Big Brother Watch briefing on the Public Order Bill for Second Reading in the House of Commons [May 2022]

• Big Brother Watch briefing on the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill; Commons consideration of House of Lords amendments [Apr 2022]

• Big Brother Watch briefing on the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill; Lords consideration of House of Commons amendments [Mar 2022]

• Joint Briefing for House of Commons Ahead of 'ping Pong Stages of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill [Mar 2022]

• Big Brother Watch briefing on the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill; Commons consideration of House of Lords amendments [Feb 2022]

• Joint Briefing for House of Commons Ahead of 'Ping Pong' Stages of The PCSC Bill [Feb 2022]

• Big Brother Watch briefing on the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill; House of Lords Report Stage [January 2022]

• Joint briefing for House of Lords ahead of report stage of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill [January 2022]

• Big Brother Watch briefing on the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill; House of Lords Committee Stage [November 2021]

• Joint briefing for House of Commons ahead of report stage of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill [July 2021]

• Joint Briefing for House Of Lords ahead of second reading of the Police, Crime, Sentencing And Courts Bill [July 2021]

• Big Brother Watch briefing on the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill; Report Stage

• Big Brother Watch briefing on the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill; Committee Stage

• Liberty and Big Brother Watch’s joint briefing on the protest measures in the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill for the “do not restrict our rights to peaceful protest” petitions debate

• Police surveillance of children’s Climate Strike protest — Letter to the Metropolitan Police

ANPR, Body worn video, CCTV

• Smile you’re on Body Worn Camera, Part 2 — Police (2017)

• Police use of ANPR(2013)

• Signal Failure?

Biometrics

• Big Brother Watch briefing on ‘Biometric data in schools’ for the Welsh Senedd [March 2023]

• Joint letter to the Scottish Justice Committee regarding the proposed Biometrics Commissioner

• The work of the Biometrics Commissioner Inquiry (Custody images and facial recognition) — Written evidence to the Science and Technology Committee

• Facial recognition and the biometrics strategy — Briefing for the Westminster Hall debate (1 May 2019)

• The National DNA Database(2012)

• Cataloguing the Innocent

Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs)

• Big Brother Watch's submission to the Bank of England and HM Treasury’s joint consultation on a UK digital pound

Chinese state-funded CCTV

• Big Brother Watch briefing on the Procurement Bill for Second Reading in the House of Commons [January 2023]

• Big Brother Watch briefing for Report Stage of the Procurement Bill [November 2022]

• Big Brother Watch briefing for Committee Stage of the Procurement Bill [June 2022]

• Big Brother Watch briefing on the Procurement Bill Second Reading for House of Lords [May 2022]

• Who's Watching You? The dominance of Chinese-state owned CCTV in the UK [Feb 2022]

Undercover agents

• Briefing on The Covert Human Intelligence Sources (Criminal Conduct) Bill for ping pong in the House of Lords [Feb 2021]

• NGO joint statement for CHIS Bill Committee stage House of Lords [23 Nov, 2020]

• Big Brother Watch Briefing - CHIS Bill Committee Stage 15th October 2020

Mass surveillance

• Big Brother Watch’s Briefing on the Investigatory Powers (Amendment) Bill for the House of Commons, Committee Stage [March 2024]

• Joint Statement: Concerns Regarding the Investigatory Powers (Amendment) Bill [March 2024]

• Joint NGO Briefing on Investigatory Powers Amendment Bill - House of Lords Report Stage [Jan 2024]

• Big Brother Watch’s Briefing on the Investigatory Powers (Amendment) Bill for the House of Lords, Committee Stage [Dec 2023]

• Big Brother Watch Briefing on Investigatory Powers (Amendment) Bill for Second Reading in the House of Lords [Nov 2023]

• Big Brother Watch response to Home Office consultation on revised notices regimes in the Investigatory Powers Act 2016

• Retention and Acquisition of Communications Data (IPA) — Consultation Response

• Investigatory Powers Bill Public Bill Committee Submission

• Draft Investigatory Powers Bill Consultation — Joint Committee on the Draft Investigatory Powers Bill

• Draft Investigatory Powers Bill Response — Joint Committee on Human Rights

• Draft Investigatory Powers Bill — Science and Technology Committee — Consultation Response

• Police Access to Communications Data (2015)

• Off the record: how police use surveillance powers (2014)

• The State of Surveillance 2018

Schools

• Classroom Management Software — Another Brick in the Wall?

• Biometrics in Schools (2014)

• Class of 1984: The extent of CCTV in secondary schools and academies (2012)

Hospitals

• National Data Guardian for Health and Care’s Review of Data Security, Consent and Opt-Outs — Big Brother Watch Response

• NHS Data Breaches

• Data Protection Breaches — NHS

Councils

• Smile you are on Body Worn Camera, Part 1 — Local Authorities (2017)

• Are They Still Watching? (2016)

• A Breach of Trust: how local authorities commit 4 data breaches every day

• Entry Allowed? The number of local authority staff with the power to enter your home or workplace (2015)

• Traffic Spies: How local authorities raised millions from the use of CCTV and CCTV cars (2014)

• Democratic Value: Exposing the scale of the commercial sale of the edited electoral role

• Private Investigators: The use of private investigators by councils, public authorities and government departments in the United Kingdom (2013)

• A legacy of suspicion: How RIPA has been used by local authorities and public bodies (2012)

• The Price of Privacy: the £515m cost of CCTV

• Who’s Knocking At Your Door?

• The Grim RIPA

ID

• Big Brother Watch submission to the Cabinet Office’s consultation on draft legislation to support identity verification [February 2023]

• Big Brother Watch briefing on the Elections Bill and voter ID; House of Lords Report Stage [April 2022]

• Big Brother Watch briefing on voter ID and the Elections Bill; House of Lords Committee Stage [March 2022]

• Big Brother Watch briefing on voter ID and the Elections Bill; Second Reading in the House of Lords [February 2022]

• Big Brother Watch briefing on the Elections Bill for Report Stage in the House of Commons [January 2022]