Phone Data Extraction: digital stop and search

With no clear policies or guidance on the use of this technology, individuals are unaware of their legal rights in terms of:

• whether data is only taken when necessary and proportionate;
• getting the police to delete this data when there is no legal reason to retain it, particularly if they are innocent of any crime;
• ensuring data is held securely to prevent exposure of their personal data as a result of loss of records, misuse or security breach. ​​

As the use of this technology is unregulated, we don’t know how this data is used, how it is stored and secured, and if it’s ever even deleted.