In May, the government awarded a contract to British technology company Buddi Limited to deliver “uninstalled devices” to monitor “specific cohorts” as part of the Home Office’s satellite monitoring service. The scheme is to be rolled out across the UK from the autumn, at an initial cost of £6m. A Home Office data protection impact assessment (DPIA) from August 2021, obtained by the charity Privacy International through a freedom of information request, assessed the impact of smartwatch technology before it contracts with a supplier. In the documents, seen by the Guardian, the Home Office says the scheme will involve “daily monitoring of people subject to immigration control”, requiring them to wear either an ankle tag or a smart watch, which they will carry with them at all times. Those required to wear the devices will have to carry out periodic tracking checks throughout the day by taking a photo of themselves on a smartwatch, with information such as their name, date of birth, nationality and photos stored for up to six years. The sites will be monitored “24/7, allowing tracking data to be recorded.” Photos taken using the smartwatches will be cross-referenced with biometric facial images in Home Office systems and if the image verification fails, a manual check will have to be carried out. The data will be shared with the Home Office, the Ministry of Justice and the police, with Home Office officials adding: “The sharing of this data [to] Police colleagues are not new.” The number of devices to be produced and the cost of each smartwatch were set out in the contract and there is no reference to risk assessments to determine whether it is appropriate to monitor vulnerable or at-risk asylum seekers. The Home Office says the smartwatch system will target foreign national offenders who have been convicted of a criminal offense and not other groups such as asylum seekers. However, it is expected that those required to wear the smartwatches will be subject to similar conditions to those with GPS ankle tags, with references in the DPIA to curfews and inclusion and exclusion zones. In a National Audit Office report in June, the government said it “views online monitoring as a cost-effective alternative to detention which contributes to its objectives of protecting the public and reducing reoffending”. Campaigners say 24-hour monitoring of asylum seekers violates human rights and can have a detrimental impact on migrants’ health and wellbeing. Lucie Audibert, lawyer and legal officer at Privacy International, said: “Facial recognition is known to be an imperfect and dangerous technology that tends to discriminate against people of color and marginalized communities. These “innovations” in policing and surveillance are often driven by private companies, which profit from governments’ struggle to fully surveil and control populations. “Through their opaque technologies and algorithms, they facilitate government discrimination and human rights violations with impunity. No other country in Europe has used this dehumanizing and invasive technology against migrants.” Dr Monish Bhatia, lecturer in criminology at Birkbeck, University of London, said: “Electronic surveillance is an intrusive control technology. Some individuals develop symptoms of anxiety, depression, suicidal ideation and overall deterioration of mental health. “The Home Office is not yet clear how long the individuals will remain under surveillance. They have not provided evidence showing why online tracking is necessary or that the tags make people more compliant with immigration rules. What we need are humane, non-degrading, community-based solutions.” Subscribe to First Edition, our free daily newsletter – every morning at 7am. BST A Home Office spokesman said a “wearable device with biometric access” would soon be introduced to complement the existing ankle-mounted device or tag. “The public expects us to track convicted alien offenders and to suggest that this convention applies to asylum seekers who have arrived illegally is simply wrong. Since August 2021, the Home Office has successfully flagged over 2,500 foreign criminals, reassuring victims that their perpetrators cannot escape the law and will be removed from the UK at the earliest opportunity. “Since January 2019, the government has removed over 10,000 foreign criminals. Foreign criminals should be in no doubt about our determination to deport them and the government is doing everything possible to increase the number of foreign offenders being deported.” Buddi Limited has been approached for a comment.
