10 July 2021 — Big Brother Watch
Throughout the pandemic, we have all been subjected to surveillance measures like never before.
Surveillance companies have been selling invasive and inaccurate thermal scanners on the false claim they can “detect fevers” or even detect coronavirus.
This new frontier sends alarm bells ringing for privacy campaigners like us. These thermal scanners and cameras are normalising the surveillance of our bodies, collecting biological data.
Worse, thermal surveillance cameras often combine other forms of monitoring like behavioural analysis and live facial recognition, creating a Frankenstein of stackable surveillance technology.
Take the Heathrow airport for example. The airport’s thermal cameras estimated passenger’s skin temperatures and also logged their estimated age group, gender, movement speed, clothing and “other generic information which may cause a person to have an elevated temperature such as ‘passenger was carrying a cup of tea’”. They even planned to add live facial recognition to the cameras too. Thankfully, the thermal scanners were dropped after we wrote to the airport and told them to drop these intrusive cameras.
But there are plenty more out there.
Today, we’ve launched a new campaign to expose this flawed technology and to encourage businesses to stop using thermal surveillance.
And you’re the first to know! Check out the new campaign page – click the button below and share the link far and wide!
STOP THERMAL SURVEILLANCE
We’ve written to over 80 businesses, workplaces, schools, care homes, airports and hospitality venues, explaining why they should stop using thermal surveillance.
Have you seen a business using thermal scanning as an entry requirement that isn’t yet on our list? Let us know where and when, by emailing Big Brother Watch..
Read our latest Emergency Powers & Civil Liberties Report:
Whilst some restrictions will be lifted on July 19th, hundreds of coronavirus laws will remain in place…
So we’re keeping the pressure up. We’ve just published our latest report detailing the realities of this vast expansion of state power: secret trials, unlawful prosecutions and fines, protest bans, censorship, and more…
Click here or the image below to read it.
Our latest research shows:
�� 920 pieces of legislation have now been passed in the UK containing the word ‘coronavirus’
�� Police issued a 19-year-old a £10,000 Covid fine for arranging a memorial for a 17-year-old who had died of suicide
�� 100% of Coronavirus Act prosecutions (286) are still unlawful
and much more.
We’ve made 17 recommendations for Parliamentarians to pursue and we’ve sent a copy to all MPs & Peers.
We’re still a long way from getting back to “normal” – and it’s vital we keep fighting to roll back excessive powers so that we don’t enter a permanent state of emergency.
Thank you!
Following the news that our campaign against domestic Covid passes was successful, we’ve received hundreds of messages of support through our email and social media channels. We read them all and take great encouragement from them – thank you!
A Times report today suggests that from Autumn, Covid Passes “will be required for customers to enter bars, restaurants and nightclubs under plans to tackle a fourth wave of the virus”. While this is just a report, we will be keeping up the pressure to make sure this never happens!
There’s much more to do – and together, we must stand our ground and fight against unnecessary state intrusion.
Thank you for standing with us,
Erlend,
Digital Communications Manager
The New Dark Age 
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