the gradual widening of the use of a technology or system beyond the purpose for which it was originally intended, esp when thisleads to potential invasion of privacy
Examples of 'function creep' in a sentence
function creep
The report warns of the danger of function creep, in which personal information that is collected for one function is extended to another.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
Numberplate recognition computers are a classic example of 'function creep': cameras and computers installed for one purpose - congestion charging - are now used for another.