UK To Encourage Awareness About Surveillance Cameras, Hosts World’s First Surveillance Camera Day

The UK is going to host the world’s first surveillance camera day, as the UK Government office of Surveillance Camera Commissioner, Tony Porter has announced that Thursday 20th of June will mark a world first – the first ever National Surveillance Camera Day.

Aimed at cultivating awareness about surveillance cameras and debate about how they are used in practice by modern society, why they are used and who is using them, the surveillance camera day will mark the National Surveillance Camera Strategy.

The initiative is also designed to propel a nationwide conversation about how camera technology is evolving, especially around automatic face recognition and artificial intelligence. The initiative is being conducted by the Surveillance Camera Commissioner (SCC) in conjunction with the Centre for Research into Information, Surveillance, and Privacy (Crisp).

Why It Matters?

The organizers believe that this conversation is important, because we are all captured by the gaze of the camera lens and because surveillance camera systems are meant to be delivered in the public interest, to keep communities safe and secure.

The public debate on surveillance cameras can assist notify policy-makers and service providers pertaining to societally acceptable surveillance practices and legality for surveillance camera systems that are delivered in line with society’s needs.

Surveillance camera commissioner Tony Porter says, “Cameras are used to keep people safe, but new and emerging technology can lead to greater infringements to our civil liberties.”

“Civil engagement is a key strand of the national surveillance camera strategy, and I want people who use cameras to shine a light on what they do – how they’re using cameras to protect communities, not spy on them,” he added.

The SCC is fostering surveillance camera control centers to throw their “doors open” so that the public can see how they operate. This will be complemented by a number of surveillance camera operators who will issue a surveillance camera factsheet, setting out the basics facts of their system, including what it is designed to do and the number of cameras they operate.

During the launch, the SCC will also introduce a “secure by default” list of minimum requirements for video surveillance systems manufacturers at the IFSEC International Conference in London. According to the report, the list of minimum requirements is also a world first and has been designed for manufacturers by manufacturers. With this launch of the list, manufacturers meet the new requirements and will ensure that the default settings of a product are the most secure settings possible. It means their products are much less likely to be vulnerable to cyber-attacks.

The surveillance camera day will see a flurry of media activity, including newspaper articles, speeches, radio discussions, and social media conversations. According to the Surveillance Commissioner's office, everyone is welcome to contribute to the discussion and a number of organizations with an interest in surveillance cameras will be joining the conversation – every viewpoint and opinion is welcome.