ICJP issues legal letters to UK universities over unlawful surveillance of students and staff

The International Centre of Justice for Palestinians (ICJP) has issued letters to 12 UK universities in relation to a recent investigation by Al Jazeera and Liberty Investigates. This revealed them to have paid private intelligence and security firms to monitor, profile, and assess pro-Palestinian students and academic staff. The letters outline immediate and concrete steps that the universities must take to mitigate ongoing legal risks.

The security firm, Horus Security Consultancy Limited, undertook the systematic collection, analysis, and sharing of information relating to individuals’ political opinions, associations and lawful activism, including through social media monitoring, speaker vetting, and intelligence-style reporting.

Concerningly, these practices appear to have been undertaken without the knowledge or consent of affected individuals and, in some cases, may have informed institutional decision-making.

These revelations, which only came to light after an extensive investigation by Al Jazeera English and Liberty Investigates, expose the universities to serious and overlapping legal risks under data protection law, human rights law, higher education regulatory frameworks, and public law principles – which ICJP has outlined in our legal letters to the universities.

It is also an appalling, yet unsurprising, disclosure that speaks to the increasing patterns of hostility, aggression, and crackdown on pro-Palestine protests and organisers in the UK.

Horus, which describes itself as a “leading intelligence” firm, has received at least £440,000 from universities since 2022. The use of its surveillance and profiling tools in relation to political expression by some of the UK’s most respected academic institutions creates a clear chilling effect which not only discourages students and academics from participating in lawful debate, but also undermines institutional commitments to academic freedom.

ICJP makes it clear to universities

These revelations are even more troubling given the lack of public scrutiny faced by private companies such as Horus. This kind of Orwellian surveillance is proceeding largely unchecked, against a backdrop of increasing crackdowns on pro-Palestinian student activism in the UK, from universities, police forces and the national government. This forms part of a broader pattern of encroachment on civil liberties across the country.

In order to mitigate ongoing legal risks, ICJP has outlined immediate and concrete steps that the universities must take to ensure compliance with statutory and regulatory obligations. These steps include stopping surveillance, disposal of information collected and disclosure of contracts and policies relating to such practices, including handling, automation and GDPR compliance.

Órlaith Roe, ICJP’s public affairs and communications officer, said:

What we’re seeing here is a deeply troubling escalation in the monitoring of lawful pro-Palestinian advocacy on UK campuses. The outsourcing of surveillance to private intelligence firms, without transparency or consent, exposes these universities to legal risks, as well as undermining the principles of universities.

Universities should be places where open debate is encouraged, not environments that foster fear and self-censorship. There must now be urgent scrutiny of these practices, and clear accountability for those involved.

Featured image via the Canary