Surveillance Camera Commissioner

The Office of the Biometrics and Surveillance Camera Commissioner refused a request for information about non-law-enforcement use of facial recognition and biometric surveillance. It invoked section 12(1) of the Freedom of Information Act, estimating that searching several inboxes and approximately 6,000 files across 37 request points would exceed the £450 cost limit. It also considered the request manifestly unreasonable under Regulation 12(4)(b) of the Environmental Information Regulations because identifying environmental information would require additional manual searches. The requester may narrow the request, seek an internal review within two months, and ultimately complain to the Information Commissioner.