Allegations of Political Surveillance by Stormont Revealed

The TUV's North Antrim MLA, Timothy Gaston, has accused the Stormont Executive of engaging in 'political surveillance' by transcribing interviews from the BBC's Nolan Show. Gaston uncovered this practice through an FOI request, expressing concerns about monitoring critics. The Media Monitoring Service within the Department of Finance has come under scrutiny, with further questions raised about public expenditure on such activities. FOI expert Mark Rosenbaum highlighted the need for potential modernization using AI systems for transcription services. The Department of Finance is yet to provide a comment on the matter.