By Arianna Andreangeli, Senior Lecturer in Competition Law, Edinburgh Law School, University of Edinburgh

Remote monitoring is a phenomenon we are very familiar with. In a way, we are all being monitored remotely, whether via public or private CCTV systems. However, some individuals are subject to individual monitoring by way of judicial or administrative decisions. Offenders, for instance, can be subjected, in specific cases and upon their consent, to electronic tagging, often together with other restrictive measures such as night curfew, instead of imprisonment. Individuals seeking asylum can also be tagged in certain circumstances - for instance, after their application for refugee status is turned down and before repatriation.