Big brother is watching you: construction site camera surveillance

Camera surveillance at businesses has often been in the news negatively lately, even though many companies put up the cameras with good intentions. For example, to prevent theft. Also, almost every construction company has cameras on the construction site and in the office building.

Below are several tips&trics on how cameras may be used responsibly and lawfully.

Privacy rules tightened

Many changes are imminent in the area of privacy legislation. On May 25, 2018, the General Data Protection Regulation (hereinafter AVG) will apply throughout Europe. The purpose of the law is to prevent unlawful processing of personal data.

The new privacy laws also place firm conditions on the processing of camera images. Camera surveillance is a far-reaching invasion of the privacy of your employees and any hired workers and visitors. Such an infringement may be permissible if there is a legitimate interest.

Real need? Turn off sound

Think of the prevention of theft (of building materials, for example) or monitoring the safety of those present on the construction site. In addition, camera surveillance must really be necessary to serve that legitimate interest and it cannot be done in any other way (such as access controls, keys, etc.).

Note these requirements before the cameras hang:

• All 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 kept and who is the contact person within your organization regarding camera surveillance. Is there a Works Council? Then the Works Council has a right of consent regarding these regulations.
• It is further important to hang signs at the construction site and within the office building, informing (hired) personnel, but especially visitors, that there are cameras.
• Check that cameras are used in the least intrusive way possible. For example, point cameras only at the building materials (which need extra protection against theft), rather than at the workers' faces. Further, in most cases, it is not necessary for sound recordings to be made as well. Therefore, turn off the sound.
• It is also important that the camera images are not subsequently used for a purpose other than that specified. Thus, it is not allowed to use the camera images from cameras that have been hung to prevent theft to hold an employee accountable for his performance, for example, because the camera images show that the employee does little work.
• Do not keep the camera footage for more than four weeks, unless the footage is needed because of the theft that was nevertheless committed.

Control becomes stricter

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 enforce more strictly from the end of May. The Authority may start imposing hefty fines if a company fails to comply with its obligations under the AVG. Employees or visitors can also go to court and seek damages if they feel a company is not properly complying with privacy laws.

Additional new conditions

Therefore, make sure that the right people within your organization are aware of the conditions for camera surveillance and estimate what (if any) adjustments are needed 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.

So it's high time to get started with the AVG!