The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has issued an enforcement notice and warning to the UK Home Office over its pilot program involving the electronic monitoring of migrants, after concluding that the project failed to meet UK data protection standards.
The pilot, which began in August 2022, involved tracking the GPS location of up to 600 migrants who had arrived in the UK through unauthorized channels and were on immigration bail. The initiative aimed to assess whether electronic monitoring could be an effective tool for maintaining contact with asylum claimants and reducing the risk of absconding, while exploring it as an alternative to detention.
However, the ICO found that the Home Office did not sufficiently consider the privacy risks of continuous GPS tracking, noting that tracking individuals’ movements in such a manner could reveal sensitive personal information. The ICO also pointed out that the Home Office did not adequately assess the potential impact on vulnerable individuals, such as those with limited language skills or those who had faced challenging journeys to the UK. The ICO’s investigation also revealed gaps in the information provided to individuals about how their location data would be used and stored.
John Edwards, the UK Information Commissioner, emphasized the importance of robust justification for any data collection that involves tracking individuals’ movements. He also highlighted the need for clear guidance and consistent application of privacy measures, particularly when dealing with vulnerable individuals.
The ICO found that the Home Office was unable to provide a clear justification for the necessity of collecting such detailed personal data and failed to consider less intrusive alternatives. Furthermore, the privacy information given to those being monitored was inconsistent and unclear and did not provide sufficient details about how the data would be used, stored, or shared.
The ICO has instructed the Home Office to update its internal policies, guidance, and privacy information concerning the data collected during the pilot. Additionally, the ICO issued a formal warning, stating that any future attempts to collect similar data under these conditions would breach UK data protection laws.
Although the pilot ended in December 2023, the Home Office retains access to the personal data collected, which will continue to be stored until it is either deleted or anonymized. The ICO’s enforcement notice emphasizes that failure to comply with data protection standards could result in further legal action.
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