'On the conveyor belt': camera surveillance within the manufacturing industry

Corporate camera surveillance has often been in the news negatively lately, even though many companies put up the cameras with good intentions. Think about preventing theft. Cameras are also used in many manufacturing companies, for example in production or storage halls and on the assembly line. Here are some tips on how to use cameras responsibly and lawfully.

Privacy: an important commodity

In the field of privacy legislation, quite a lot has changed in recent times. For example, since May 25, 2018, the General Data Protection Regulation (hereafter AVG) has applied throughout Europe. The purpose of this law is to prevent unlawful processing of personal data.

The AVG also places firm conditions on the processing of camera footage. Camera surveillance is a far-reaching invasion of the privacy of your employees and any hired workers and visitors. Such an infringement may be permitted if there is a legitimate interest. Consider, for example, the prevention of theft (of materials, for example) or monitoring the safety of those present in the workplace. Camera surveillance must also be really necessary to serve that legitimate interest and cannot be done in any other way (such as access controls, keys, etc.). In addition, camera surveillance must be part of a total package of measures and may not be the only measure taken to prevent theft, for example.

In addition, it is important that the following requirements are also met:

• Your employees and hired workers should be informed that there are cameras and why there are cameras. It is wise to draw up regulations for this purpose or expand the employee handbook. These regulations should at least state why the cameras are being filmed, who has access to the images, how long they are stored and who is the contact person within your organization regarding camera surveillance. Do you have a Works Council? Then the Works Council has the right to consent to these regulations.
• It is further important to hang signs in the workplace and within the office building, informing (hired) staff, but especially visitors, that there are cameras.
• Check that the cameras are used in the least intrusive way possible. For example, you can hang the cameras so that they focus only on the products (which you want to protect from theft), rather than on the employees' faces. Further, in most cases, it is not necessary for sound recordings to be made as well. Therefore, do not record sound.
• It is also important that you do not subsequently use the camera footage for any purpose other than what you have specified (in your policy). So it is not permitted to use the camera footage to hold an employee accountable for his performance, for example, because the camera footage shows that the employee does little work. Whereas you have put up the cameras to prevent theft or ensure safety in the workplace.
• Do not keep the camera footage for more than four weeks unless you need the footage because of the theft that has nevertheless occurred.

Getting started!

The Personal Data Authority is the body in the Netherlands that checks whether companies are complying correctly with the AVG. The Authority has already announced that it will be enforcing more strictly from now on. The Personal Data Authority can start imposing hefty fines when a company fails to comply with its obligations under the AVG. Employees or visitors can also go to court and claim damages if they feel a company is not properly complying with privacy laws.

Therefore, make sure that the right people within your organization are aware of the conditions that the AVG imposes on camera surveillance and estimate what adjustments (if any) are necessary to comply with the AVG. It is also important to take sufficient technical measures to secure the camera images. Important here is who within the organization has access to the images (access controls), whether those involved can easily view or modify the images and whether the network is sufficiently secured. High time to get started!