The Department for Work and Pensions is planning to use artificial intelligence to scan millions of bank accounts in an attempt to counter fraud.
More than 40 organisations, including Disability Rights UK and Age UK, have voiced their concerns over the plan. They argue it will unfairly target people who have accidentally been overpaid.The groups are urging the Government to abandon the plan. It is part of the data protection and digital information bill and would cover all social security payments, including state pensions, according to Birmingham Live, reports Bristol Live.
Disability Rights UK expressed "serious concerns regarding extraordinary new financial surveillance powers introduced in the Data Protection and Digital Information Bill". Nonetheless, the DWP has rejected this, stating: "This is not a surveillance power, and it does not allow DWP to access bank accounts or see how claimants or pensioners are spending their money."
They also said: "They will compel third parties including banks, building societies, and transmission companies to trawl all customer accounts in search of 'matching' accounts without prior suspicion of fraudulent activity, setting a deeply concerning precedent for generalised, intrusive financial surveillance in the UK.