UK watchdog condemns police for secretly recording phone calls | World News

U.K.Sri Lanka’s information watchdog said on Tuesday it had condemned two police forces for recording more than 200,000 phone calls without people’s knowledge that could relate to victims, witnesses and perpetrators of alleged crimes.

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) said Surrey Police and Sussex Police had issued reprimands after the launch of an app in 2016 that recorded phone conversations and illegally obtained personal data.

The police did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

The ICO said it became aware in 2020 that staff from both police forces had access to the app, which records all incoming and outgoing calls.

The regulator said the app had been downloaded by 1,015 employees and recordings of more than 200,000 phone conversations were automatically saved.

“We can only estimate the vast amount of personal data collected during these conversations, including highly sensitive information related to the alleged crime,” Stephen Bonner, the ICO’s Deputy Commissioner for Regulatory Oversight, said in the statement.

“This case should be a lesson for any organization planning to launch an app, product or service that uses people’s personal data. Organizations must consider people’s data protection rights and implement data protection principles from the start.”