New CCTV rules start on May 25th

cctv The government has announces some relaxation in the complex laws covering the private installation of video surveillance cameras and broadly is following the new European data protection legislation which comes into effect on May 25th.

The new rules mean that any person or company can install a video surveillance system without prior authorisation from the National Commission for Data Protection, as long as cameras don’t point at a public road.

The rules changes to the General Regulation on Data Protection take effect as of May 25th and means there will be no authorisation fee to pay.

Fines stay though, up to 4% of the turnover of companies that violate the rules.

Cameras may not record images of a public road and, in most instances, it is forbidden to record sound. Cameras may not be installed in bathrooms, changing rooms or locker rooms and cannot be pointed at workers. Images cannot be stored for more than 30 days, cannot be copied or shared and whoever holds them, must keep them confidential.

The European regulations subsume the CNPD which, in 2017, issued 11,998 authorisations for the installation of video surveillance systems and a further 4,665 so far this year.

There are different considerations for cameras in areas where a lot of people come and go, the law requires an external evaluation of the impact of the video surveillance system. Before the system goes into operation in such a location, a prior consultation with the CNPD is required. This will be easier to understand when CNPD published a list of situations in which this assessment is mandatory.

Two further developments are the creation of a data controller and the ‘right to be forgotten.’

This law then provides for a named person to be in charge of data protection, and anyone who wishes their data to be erased, can ask for this to happen.

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