Do you want to secure your property or yourself at home? You may hang a camera, such as a doorbell camera, at your home. However, you must follow the rules of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
The most important rule with cameras at your own home is that your camera must film only your own property. Thus, you may not film other people's property, such as your neighbor's house or yard. Also, in principle, you are not allowed to film public roads, such as the sidewalk or parking lots.
It is your responsibility to adjust the camera so that it only films your property, even if someone else hangs the camera for you. Are you having your camera installed by an installation company? Then watch with the installer as he or she sets up the camera. And indicate that you want the camera to be privacy-proof. Check yourself whether your camera is actually aimed only at your property.
Sometimes you really can't help but film a bit of the public road. For example, because your front door is directly adjacent to the public road. In that case, you must make sure that you violate the privacy of passersby as little as possible. Here are the rules:
adjust the camera properly;
Inform people about the camera;
Save the images briefly or not at all;
don't share the images;
blur (automated) faces of passersby;
secure camera footage;
respect the privacy rights of the people you are filming.
Make sure you basically film only your own property. For example, only your own garden. And therefore not your neighbor's garden.
Through your camera's settings, you can zoom the camera image in on your own belongings as much as possible. Or you can use a privacy filter to protect certain parts of the image. This prevents your neighbors' garden, for example, from being in the picture.
Is your camera facing the public road, such as a sidewalk or parking lot? Then make sure to film as little of this as possible.
For example, is your scooter on the street and you want to film it? Then, according to privacy regulations, you are not allowed to film the entire street. You may only film the part of the street where your scooter is parked. You do this by zooming in the camera image as much as possible.
Is it unavoidable to film a section of public road or sidewalk, and can you prove it? Then you can use your camera's additional privacy settings.
You should inform people who come onto your property that you are filming them. For example, with a sign stating that there is camera surveillance.
Do you have a doorbell camera? Then make sure that people who want to ring your doorbell know that they are being filmed. For example with a sticker. So that they can choose not to ring the doorbell if they prefer not to be filmed.
Save the images your camera records for as short a time as possible. Delete the images as soon as you no longer need them. For example, after 24 hours. Check your camera settings to see if you can have images deleted automatically.
Or don't store images at all. If you have a doorbell camera, then you are fine just watching live who is at the door at the time the doorbell rings. And do not store those images.
You may not just share the footage, for example by posting it on the Internet or sharing it in a WhatsApp group. This is only allowed if the people filmed have given permission.
Has a crime been committed? Then of course you may share the footage with the police if you report it. The police may also request or demand images from you.
Is it unavoidable to film a section of the public road, and can you prove it? Then you can blur the faces of passersby in the public space, for example. That way, people are not or less likely to be recognizable. Check your camera's settings to see if you can have this done automatically.
Make sure you secure your camera's images properly. So that your camera cannot be hacked.
You do this at least by setting your own password. And, if you can, your own user name as well. Never continue to use a password set by the manufacturer.
Further, read the camera manual carefully to see what options you can set to properly secure the images.
Also check whether the camera manufacturer has access to the images. Can you choose between storage with the manufacturer in the cloud, or local storage, such as on an SD card? The second option is better from a privacy standpoint. Furthermore, you usually need a subscription to store camera images in the cloud. Using local storage is usually free, apart from the purchase cost.
The people you are filming have privacy rights. This means, for example, that they have the right to view the footage you took of them.
Only in very exceptional cases may you purposefully point a camera at a portion of your neighbors' property or public space. For example, if there are serious and demonstrable security problems, such as many burglaries in the neighborhood. And if there really is no other solution possible than to use a camera.
Camera images are personal data if people are in the picture. To process personal data, you need a good reason. The privacy law, the General Data Protection Regulation (AVG), lists the 6 reasons. These reasons are called bases.
One of the possible bases is called "necessary to pursue a legitimate interest. This could be a basis for your camera use.
But then you must meet all the conditions for legitimate interest. This is a legal test based on the AVG.
Those conditions are:
You have a legitimate interest. Such as protecting your property or persons, for example, because there is a lot of burglary in your neighborhood.
Camera surveillance is necessary. Necessity consists of two requirements.
First, the purpose of camera surveillance must be proportional to the invasion of people's privacy. For example: you film the entire street, when you could also film only a portion of the street to protect your property. By filming the entire street, the invasion of privacy is much greater. Probably the camera surveillance is then disproportionate to the invasion of privacy.
Second, you should see if there is no other way to protect your property that is less invasive to people's privacy. Camera surveillance is part of a package of measures.
You have properly balanced your interest in camera surveillance against the privacy interests of the people you are filming. And this balancing shows that your interest outweighs the interests of the people you are filming.
Do you not meet these conditions? Then you may not point your camera at the public road.
Does your camera film other people's property or the public road when it is not required to? If so, you are violating privacy laws.
The Personal Data Authority (AP) may ask you questions about your camera surveillance. For example, if someone files a complaint about your camera with the AP. Then the AP can take action against you in various ways if your camera is not set up privacy-proof.
Do you have a fake camera or one that is not turned on? Then the rules on cameras do not apply because you are not filming anything. But your neighbors or passersby may still feel their privacy is invaded if they see a camera hanging.
Especially if your camera is pointed at the public road or at your neighbor's property. Which with a working camera would not be allowed. Therefore, point the camera only at your own property to avoid commotion or conflict.
The police may request images from your camera or requisition images. Most likely, in this case, your camera footage is being requested because of a criminal offense, and the police need your footage to solve or prevent that criminal offense. You are required to cooperate if the police demand the camera footage.
You do not then have to let people on the images know that you provided the images to the police. However, you would do well to check for yourself whether this is correct in your situation. If you are in doubt, seek legal advice.
Camera footage can be used against a defendant in a criminal case. That also means that the address of the owner of the camera ends up in the verdict. And the defendant has the right to see all the evidence against that person. If a defendant knows where that camera footage came from, the owner of such a camera could potentially be at risk.
