Labour bank spying bill will bring unprecedented surveillance,' charities warn

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"The government's controversial bank spying' bill threatens to create an unprecedented level of population-wide mass surveillance, several leading campaign groups and charities have warned, as they urge ministers to overhaul the plans. Labour's new Fraud, Error and Debt Bill is currently in the final stages of the House of Lords, and set to become law later this year. It forms a central part of Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) plans to crackdown on benefit fraud, with new powers for the department to request information from claimants' bank accounts and and deduct funds directly from them. Led by civil liberties campaign group Big Brother Watch, an open letter to new work and pensions minister Pat McFadden calls for crucial changes to the bill. It warns that the measures threaten to have a significant human impact, which will be disproportionately felt by disabled people, older people, carers and those living in poverty. Signatories including Age UK, Citizens Advice and Disability Rights UK write that there are widespread concerns about the algorithmic fraud detection software wrongful"

The Independent sends journalists to cover developing stories across reproductive rights, climate change and Big Tech and relies on donations to fund paywall-free reporting. The Labour Fraud, Error and Debt Bill would grant the Department for Work and Pensions powers to request claimants' bank information and to deduct funds directly as part of a benefit-fraud crackdown. Civil liberties groups and charities warn that the measures risk creating population-wide surveillance and will disproportionately harm disabled people, older people, carers and those living in poverty. Campaigners urge ministers to overhaul the bill amid concerns about algorithmic fraud detection causing wrongful outcomes.

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