How far should a government go to stamp out people smuggling? This month, the Home Office is set to introduce powers that will allow courts to place expansive restrictions on those suspected of people smuggling and other serious crimes. Penalties are set to include social media bans, restrictions on banking and even curfews, imposed pre-arrest. Infringement of these court orders would be a criminal offence punishable by up to five years in jail.
Some have welcomed this as tough action from the Labour government; finally, you may think, they’re doing something about illegal immigration. But tough policies aren’t always good policies. The mooted powers would allow the police to shut down a suspect’s social media accounts, freeze their bank accounts and even track and limit their physical movements, all before there’s enough evidence to mount an arrest. Private companies like banks and social media platforms would be required to enforce these restrictions. To me, this proposal raised the chilling spectre of another ‘tough’ policy: China’s social credit system.
I am not suggesting that Labour is about to introduce a British social credit scheme
First, a caveat.
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