Is UK surveillance law suitable for the digital age?

This thesis examines the suitability of UK surveillance law for the digital age in terms of its protection of privacy. It argues that UK law regulating state surveillance fails to recognise the undulations of the contemporary surveillance landscape brought about by the digitalisation of society and that this has negatively impacted both individual and societal interests in privacy.;Privacy is underlined as a cornerstone of liberal democratic society that continues to be relevant and worthy of legal protection in the digital age. It is argued that the legal tradition needs to engage more fully with other disciplines, particularly surveillance studies, to ensure that expectations of privacy within the digital age are properly reflected, and protected, by law. This thesis helps bridge this gap by adopting a multidisciplinary approach to the assessment of UK surveillance law.;In particular, it is argued that the ownership of surveillance has been democratised in the digital age, enabling the individual to participate in surveillance. It is argued that, this too, needs to be recognised in order to protect the benefits of the contemporary surveillance landscape bestowed on civil society. The main argument of this thesis is that the law needs to attune to the technological and cultural changes the contemporary surveillance landscape has undergone in order to preserve privacy in the digital age. This thesis concludes with recommendations as to how UK surveillance law can be improved so that this can be achieved.

Name dc:type.qualificationname

phd

Level dc:type.qualificationlevel

doctoral-pg

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

University of Strathclyde

Year dc:date.issued

2019

Author dc:creator

• Wheeler-Ozanne, Clowance Rose Pearl

Advisors dc:contributor.advisor

• O'Donnell, Thérèse
• Lennon, Genevieve

DOI

10.48730/00f5-e015

Identifier

T15597

Author Identifier

201461872

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:strathclyde:pr76f341v