Commissioner signs petition to reset the ICO

The Scottish Biometrics Commissioner Dr Brian Plastow has signed the petition by The Open Rights Group (ORG) calling for the ICO to be re-set.

In 2024, Dr Plastow published an Opinion Piece which considered why the (then) UK Government was intent on disempowering regulators whilst surreptitiously creating the enabling conditions for enhanced UK-wide surveillance of law-abiding citizens. The Opinion Piece also discussed whether through failure to effectively recognise such sophistry and stealth, Scotland may also be ‘sleepwalking’ towards its place within a UK surveillance state.

The Open Rights Group (ORG) launched this campaign to reset the ICO and are calling for a radical overhaul of the UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). They argue the watchdog has failed to enforce data laws, routinely ignored public complaints, and bent to tech and government influence while former Commissioner John Edwards was at the helm.

In adding his signature to this campaign, the Commissioner is hopeful that the current transition from an Information Commissioner (ICO) to an Information Commission (IC) will deliver such a ‘reset’ enabling the new Commission and Chair to re-assert their collective independence from the Home Office, to do more proactive enforcement than in recent years, and to ensure that the data rights of UK citizens are not eroded to serve Big Tech.