The scary new powers to trawl through our bank accounts

Claire Fox sits down with Jasleen Chaggar of Big Brother Watch and author Timandra Harkness to talk about the latest attack on our privacy.

On the surface, the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill does not sound like the kind of legislation that will set your pulse racing. But one part of it in particular should be more widely known and the cause of great concern: the new eligibility verification powers for welfare recipients. Yes, there’s nothing more infuriating than welfare cheats. But as always with new laws, we need to ensure government don’t use this as a disproportionate power grab.

There’s agreement between the Labour government and the Conservative opposition in overlooking worries about, for example, people’s right to privacy. But the Liberal Democrats have rightly said that the Bill presents opportunities for Orwellian levels of mass surveillance for those who get means tested benefits. They've called it a ‘Big Brother Bill’, something akin to a modern snooper’s charter. For the SNP, Kirsty Blackman says it will treat people as guilty, rather than beginning from the point of view that they are innocent.

In short, the civil liberties implications are very serious.

This is one of those pieces of legislation that's likely to pass through the Lords quite easily, although a group of us will do our best to counter some of its more problematic sections. But outside of parliament, not enough people know about its potentially draconian implications. Luckily, one organisation has tried to raise the alarm about the Bill: Big Brother Watch.

So, I’m delighted that earlier this week I was able to sit down to discuss what these new powers would mean with Jasleen Chaggar, who is the legal and policy officer at Big Brother Watch. Jasleen focuses on data rights, financial privacy and surveillance technology, and she writes a bi-weekly roundup of developments in media law for the International Forum for Responsible Media. We were joined by author and broadcaster Timandra Harkness, author of Technology is Not the Problem and Big Data: Does Size Matter?, to get her perspective on the issues.

Even if you think, like me, that welfare fraud is a legitimate concern, this looks like a privacy-shattering sledgehammer that will actually do very little to tackle the problem. Please watch the discussion using the YouTube link above or you can listen via Podbean or via your usual podcast provider – just search for ‘Academy of Ideas’ to subscribe.

For more information about the Bill, check out the Big Brother Watch briefing here. Inspired by this interview, I spoke at Second Reading of the Bill on Thursday. You can watch my speech here:

I hope that you’ll help get the word out.