The Belgian privacy regulator GBA has fined the owner of a student house 9,700 euros. The landlord used the cameras to secure the property. He also used them to check whether students were complying with household regulations, including sorting trash in the kitchen.
According to the Belgian privacy authority, the owner intervened several times based on the camera footage he could view 24/7 via his smartphone. "Although the protection of property is a legitimate goal, monitoring students violated the principle of a tenant's 'quiet enjoyment,'" the GBA states.
According to the GBA's ruling, the negative consequences of processing the camera footage outweighed the students' privacy over the landlord's interests. Another violation of the AVG was that through the security cameras part of the public road and the neighbor's property could be seen. This violated the principle of minimal data processing.
Click here for the message from the GBA.
