Regulating CCTV by A . A . Adams School of Systems Engineering

Given that the number of CCTV cameras in the UK is the largest in the world, and given that it is unclear when video data should be regarded as Personal Data (or what rights a blanket definition would reasonably provide to the surveilled) it is claimed that a CCTV Act is needed in the UK. This claim appears to be supported by the police authorities [Bal06a], although in addition to a broad claim regarding protection of privacy, their view is that private CCTV should be forced to be of sufficient quality and sufficiently accessible, to be of use to the police. Given the Office of the Surveillance Commissioners’ [OSC] existing role in oversight of police surveillance operations, it is suggested that the OSC be made responsible for licensing and regulating CCTV systems and operators. Protection of raw video data as a potential source of Personal Data when processed is necessary (and currently outside the scope of the Office of the Information Commissioner [OIC]). Where raw video data is sufficiently processed to produce Personal Data or where it is linked with other data sufficient to identify individuals, the data would then pass to the aegis of the OIC. Specific proposals for securing data and infrastructure are suggested, in addition to some general Surveillance Protection Principles.