The most important rule for cameras at your own home is that your camera may only film your own property. This means you may not film other people's property, such as your neighbours' house or garden. In principle, you may also not film public roads, such as pavements or car parks.
It is your responsibility to adjust the camera so that it only films your property, even if someone else installs the camera for you. Are you having your camera installed by an installation company? Then watch the installer as they set up the camera. And indicate that you want the camera to be privacy-proof. Check for yourself that your camera is actually only focused on your property.
Rules for cameras at home
Sometimes, there is no other option but to film a section of the public highway. For example, because your front door is directly adjacent to the public highway. In that case, you must ensure that you infringe on the privacy of passers-by as little as possible. These are the rules:
- set up the camera properly
- inform people about the camera
- keep the images briefly or not at all
- do not share the images
- blur (automatically) faces of passers-by
- secure the camera footage
- respect the privacy rights of the people you filmt
Adjust the camera properly
Make sure that you only film your own property. For example, only your own garden. Not your neighbours' gardens.
You can use your camera settings to zoom in as much as possible on your own property. Or you can shield certain parts of the image with a privacy filter. This prevents your neighbours' gardens from being filmed, for example.
Is your camera focused on a public road, such as a pavement or car park? If so, ensure that you film as little of this as possible.
For example, is your scooter parked on the street and do you want to film it? According to privacy rules, you are not allowed to film the entire street. You may only film the section of the street where your scooter is parked. You can do this by zooming in as much as possible on the camera image.
Inform people about the camera
You must inform people who enter 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. That way, they can choose not to ring the doorbell if they prefer not to be filmed.
Keep the images short or not at all
Keep the images recorded by your camera 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 the images deleted automatically.
Or don't save any images at all. If you have a doorbell camera, you can simply watch live to see who is at the door when the bell rings. And don't save those images.
Do not share the images
You may not share the images without permission, for example by posting them on the internet or sharing them in a WhatsApp group. You may only do so if the people filmed have given their consent.
Has a criminal offence been committed? In that case, you may of course share the images with the police when you report the offence. The police may also request or demand that you hand over the images.
Blur (automatically) faces of passers-by
Is it unavoidable to film part of the public highway, and can you demonstrate this? If so, you can blur the faces of passers-by in public spaces, for example. This way, people are less likely to be recognisable.
Secure the camera footage
Ensure that you properly secure the images from your camera so that it cannot be hacked.
You can do this by setting your own password and, if possible, your own username. Never use the password set by the manufacturer.
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, for example on an SD card? The second option is better from a privacy point of view. Furthermore, you usually need a subscription to store camera images in the cloud. The use of local storage is usually free, apart from the purchase costs.
Respect the privacy rights of the people you film.
The people you film have privacy rights. This means that they have the right, for example, to view the images you have made of them.
Consciously filming public spaces
Only in very exceptional cases may you deliberately point a camera at part of your neighbour's property or public space. For example, if there are serious and demonstrable security issues, such as frequent burglaries in the neighbourhood. And if there is really no other solution than to use a camera.
Camera images are personal data if people are visible in them. You need a valid reason to process personal data. The privacy law, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), lists six reasons. These reasons are called legal bases.
Legitimate interest
One of the possible grounds is called 'necessary for the protection of a legitimate interest'. This may be a basis for your camera use.
However, you must meet all the conditions for legitimate interest. This is a legal test based on the GDPR.
These conditions are:
You have a legitimate interest. Such as protecting your property or people, for example because there are many burglaries in your neighbourhood.
Camera surveillance is necessary. Necessity consists of two requirements.
Firstly, the purpose of the Camera surveillance must be proportionate to the invasion of people's privacy. For example: you film the entire street, while you could also film only part of the street to protect your property. By filming the entire street, the invasion of privacy is much greater. In this case, the Camera surveillance is probably not proportionate to the invasion of privacy.
Secondly, you must consider whether there is no other way to protect your property that is less intrusive to people's privacy. Camera surveillance is part of a package of measures.
You have carefully weighed up your interest in camera surveillance against the privacy interests of the people you are filming. This assessment shows that your interests outweigh the interests of the people you are filming.
If you do not meet these conditions, you are not allowed to point your camera at public roads.
In case of violation
Does your camera film other people's property or public roads when this is not necessary? If so, you are violating privacy laws.
The Dutch Data Protection Authority (AP) may ask you questions about your camera surveillance. For example, if someone submits a complaint about your camera to the AP. The AP can then take various measures against you if your camera is not set up in a privacy-proof manner.
Fake camera (dummy)
Do you have a fake camera or a camera that is not switched on? In that case, the rules for cameras do not apply, because you are not filming anything. However, your neighbours or passers-by may still feel that their privacy has been violated if they see a camera hanging there.
This is especially true if your camera is pointed at a public road or your neighbours' property. This would not be allowed with a working camera. Therefore, only point the camera at your own property to avoid unrest or conflicts.
Providing camera footage to the police
The police may request or demand images from your camera. In this case, it is likely that your camera images are being requested because of a criminal offence, and the police need your images to solve or prevent that criminal offence. You are obliged to cooperate if the police request your camera images.
You do not have to inform the people in the footage that you have provided the footage to the police. However, it is advisable to check whether this is correct in your situation. If you are unsure, seek legal advice.
Camera footage can be used against a suspect in a criminal case. This also means that the address of the camera owner will be included in the judgment. The suspect has the right to view all evidence against them. If a suspect knows where the camera footage came from, the owner of the camera may be at risk.