'Big Brother' surveillance in Britain goes beyond limits of acceptability: Report

London, Nov 12(ANI): A new report has raised an alarm over Britain's 'Big Brother' surveillance onslaught, saying that it is intruding into private lives of people in the country.

The Surveillance Studies Network through its report highlighted the unaccountable surveillance practices and weak legal protections.

The report identified a string of threats including body scanners at airports that invite 'voyeuristic opportunism', automatic numberplate recognition cameras, CCTV cameras in schools that measure teacher performance and aerial police drones that are 'more pervasive than CCTV'.

"Much surveillance also goes beyond the limits of what is tolerable in a society based on the rule of law and human rights, one of which is the right to privacy," the Daily Mail quoted the report, as saying.

"Some technologies have gone from being a subject of speculation to being in mainstream use in many different areas."

"Given the relatively low level of public and political understanding of technologies such as databases, it is too easy for functions to creep surreptitiously without exposure to widespread comment, debate, or procedures for deciding on the acceptability and accountability or uses," it added.

The network also called for compensation for individuals placed under unlawful police surveillance and a requirement that those being watched are told afterwards.

Meanwhile, a government spokesman admitted that there has been too much intrusion.

"The new government is committed to rolling back big government and state intrusion," the spokesman said. (ANI)