UCLA cancelled a plan to use facial recognition technology on campus after students protested over privacy concerns, including one critique that likened use of the digital surveillance to George Orwell's book, '1984.' 

The school issued a statement on Wednesday, saying that its plan for using facial recognition was scrapped due to the privacy concerns that were expressed.

'UCLA will not pursue the use of this technology,' wrote UCLA administrative vice chancellor Michael Beck in a statement released on Wednesday.

'We have determined that the potential benefits are limited and vastly outweighed by the concerns of our campus community,' he explained in the statement, obtained by MailOnline.com.'We have determined that the potential benefits are limited and vastly outweighed by the concerns of our campus community,' he explained in the statement, obtained by MailOnline.com.

The Los-Angeles-based public university wanted to use facial recognition to raise an alarm if someone who was banned from campus suddenly showed up at the school.

UCLA also had wanted to use the technology to recognize and authorize individuals seeking access into restricted areas.