MediaVidea

95% of CCTV cameras in UK may be illegal

In this post 9-11 world, citizens accept many security measures as natural course of things without giving thought to the fact that their activities may be recorded by their employers, the police without any legal backing.

According to Data Protections in UK, anyone who wants to put security cameras in their premises or outside must inform the information commissioner first and must also put prominent notices outside informing people that their activities are being recorded.

CCTV compliance consultancy DatPro found in a survey of buildings and other installations that over 90 per cent of the UK's 4.2 million CCTV systems were not compliant with the Data Protection Act.

This raises some important things to consider:
1. Are there similar laws in effect in other countries? Let us start with the developed world.
2. How much do we know about the legality of CCTVs in our cities? Is there any register of CCTVs for every city?
3. Do people know of relevant applicable laws?
4. Can we challenge those who are recording our activities to prove they have the necessary permissions?
5. It would be worthwhile to put prominent notices displaying that people are entering an area of “constant observation” at their own risk.

It goes without saying that CCTV awareness is a topic which demands greater coverage from citizen bloggers everwhere.

Labels: digital rights, online rights, privacy issues

posted by Pramit Singh @ 3:58 PM