ICO issues new guidance on CCTV and surveillance
The ICO has updated its guidance on video surveillance to reflect changes in technology, and the steady growth of the use of video surveillance systems across the public and private sectors.
The ICO says that when using surveillance systems, organisations must take a data protection by design and default approach and perform a Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) for any processing that is likely to result in a high risk to individuals. This includes:
- processing special category data;
- monitoring publicly accessible places on a large scale; or
- monitoring individuals at a workplace.
The guidance covers, apart from CCTV, other types of surveillance technologies:
- Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR)
- Body Worn Video (BWV)
- Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) / Drones
- Facial Recognition technologies and surveillance
- Smart doorbells (commercial use)
- Surveillance in vehicles
- Action cameras and other portable surveillance.
The guidance does not cover covert surveillance techniques nor CCTV nor other devices in a domestic setting.