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Home CCTV systems and data protection law

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) oversees and enforces data protection law. An ICO webpage on home CCTV systems states that, under the law, people who capture images or audio recordings from outside their property boundary must:

• have a clear reason for using the CCTV;

• make sure the CCTV doesn’t capture more than they need to;

• let people know they are using CCTV (eg by displaying a sign);

• in most cases, provide some of the recordings if asked by a person whose image or audio, or both, the CCTV has captured;

• delete the footage regularly or automatically, or both; and

• stop recording a person if they object to being recorded and there’s no legitimate reason to continue recording them.

 The ICO webpage covers the following issues: 

• What should I do if I have concerns about the camera or I’m unhappy with being recorded?
• What should I do if I have a neighbour dispute?
• What if I feel harassed?
• What can I do if I think that someone is recording my children?
• What if a person is using CCTV in a communal area?
• Is my consent needed to be recorded on CCTV?
• Can I object to a CCTV owner recording even if they have a legitimate reason?
• What rights do I have?
• What are the rules?
• What will the ICO do if I make a complaint?
• What can’t the ICO do?

Depending on the specific circumstances, the domestic use of CCTV could be challenged if its use amounted to harassment under the Protection from Harassment Act 1997. Sources of legal advice are set out in the Library Briefing, Legal help: where to go and how to pay.