Do you want to protect your property or improve your personal safety, for example with a video doorbell or a camera in your driveway? People won’t stop you soon. But there are conditions attached to it, certainly in situations where you could violate the privacy of others. We inform you about your rights and obligations when it comes to camera surveillance.
The number of surveillance cameras is growing spectacularly, there are an estimated more than one and a half million in the Netherlands. Taking photos or videos on public roads and in public spaces with a hand camera or smartphone falls under the so-called “free information gathering”. Only if you start sharing and publishing images are you bound by more conditions. On the other hand, if you take photos or videos with an attached (fixed) camera such as a security camera, different rules apply.
In and around the house
Your house is private, you can do (almost) everything you want here. And therefore also hang cameras and record what is going on in the house. This is not covered by the General Data Protection Regulation (AVG) and the Dutch Data Protection Authority therefore does not supervise it. Officially you have to make a camera known. For this you can stick a sticker on your front door. Outdoor cameras do fall under the AVG, especially if the camera is (partly) aimed at the public road, or the neighbor’s garden. As a result, the images may show people who can be identified. Small exception: if the cameras are off or fake, then the AVG does not apply. It is therefore advisable to aim cameras so that you only film your garden and driveway, but not the public road. Sometimes that is not enough to protect your property.
Public road in the picture
Sometimes it is inevitable to register a small part of the public road. This is allowed as long as the camera serves only one demonstrable purpose: the protection of personal property. You may not make images public and may not keep them longer than necessary (usually up to 28 days). You must also clearly state that camera security is present, for example with a sticker or sign at the entrance door. It can also be useful to talk about it with neighbors and neighbors before hanging up a camera. Camera images may be entered as evidence in the event of a burglary, for example. The Police are keeping with the “Camera in focus“Even a database of surveillance cameras, including private individuals, so that they know where additional evidence can be gathered.
