Watching brief: Mike Nellis says Quakers should be concerned about the surveillance state
‘Privacy enables personhood.’
British Quakers have a longstanding commitment to civil liberties, human rights, and democratic accountability. This is grounded in our testimonies to peace, truth and integrity. In 2020 Quakers in Britain co-signed an open letter to Boris Johnson, then prime minister, expressing concern about: the deteriorating rights of migrants and minorities; threats to the Human Rights Act; and increases in judicial and police power over protestors. These remain live issues. The planned roll-out of controversial facial recognition technology, and the imminent dismantling of democratic accountability over state surveillance, are probably less familiar, but not unconnected. Intrusive technologies are one of the ‘threats to democracy’ recently explored in the BBC’s 2023 Reith lectures. Quakers, I hope, will become more concerned about the ‘invasive technification’ of everyday life.
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