Police Scotland abandons controversial cyber kiosk roll-out
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Judith Robertson
Police Scotland has abandoned plans to roll out controversial ‘cyber kiosks’ which would allow them to harvest data from mobile phones.
Concerns were previously raised over their use in Edinburgh and Stirling, where they were tested without any human rights assessment.
Chief Constable Iain Livingstone admitted there had been a failure to fully assess” the kiosks before they were trialled.
Judith Robertson, chair of the Scottish Human Right Commission, said: “The commission has previously given the Scottish Parliament its view that there is a lack of clarity about the precise legal basis for the use of this technology, as well as an absence of sufficient oversight safeguards.
“As mobile phone browsing can be highly intrusive of the right to privacy, home and correspondence it is essential the necessary safeguards are in place to regulate its use.
We therefore welcome Police Scotland’s decision not to proceed with rolling out cyber kiosks at this point in time.”
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