Over the past few years as technology has made monitoring easier in the workplace regulators have tightened rules to control unlawful processing through use of CCTV and other technology.
In EU Member States the use of CCTV and monitoring is something that requires specific registration with data protection authorities as well as express notice to individuals and in particular employees where they are used in the workplace.
Whilst monitoring is permissible for corporate governance as well as for security, care needs to be taken by businesses to ensure that monitoring does not infringe either staff human rights, employment rights or data protection rights.
The use of CCTV and monitoring is not only an EU related issue as demonstrated by a recent decision by the data protection authority in Macau in respect of a CCTV system in a children's nursery.
The guidance from the Macau Data Protection Authority is that whilst CCTV is permissible to safeguard security of the nursery and its children the system should not be used in areas where data might be collected of a sensitive nature such as the private life and health of children or their games and education activities.
The guidance from the Macau Data Protection Authority references similar opinions in Portugal and Italy.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
