Privacy International issues complaint to the UK ICO regarding the Home Office's deployment of two algorithms for immigration purposes suspected of failing to adequately comply with data protection law

"The Identify and Prioritise Immigration Cases (IPIC) tool and the Electronic Monitoring Review Tool (EMRT) used by the Home Office may lack compliance with GDPR and DPA 2018 standards."

"Privacy International argues that the Home Office's use of automated tools for immigration decisions is opaque, lacks justification, and processes unjustifiable volumes of personal data."

"The complaint highlights that these tools, critical for life-altering decisions, are subjected to inadequate human review and fail to safeguard the rights of migrants."

"Privacy International is requesting an enforcement notice from the ICO to cease processing, investigate compliance with GDPR, and ensure adherence to data protection laws."

On August 18, 2025, Privacy International formally complained to the ICO about the Home Office's use of the Identify and Prioritise Immigration Cases (IPIC) and Electronic Monitoring Review Tool (EMRT) in immigration enforcement. Privacy International claims these tools violate GDPR and DPA 2018, posing serious risks to data protection rights. Concerns include opacity in operations, large volumes of data processed without justification, and insufficient human oversight. The complaint argues that a proper Data Protection Impact Assessment was not conducted, which could have identified these issues. Privacy International is urging the ICO to investigate these practices and enforce compliance with data protection laws.

Read at Privacy International