With the ever-growing popularity of Ring video doorbells, Property Disputes Specialist Mike Hansom explores takes a look at doorbell camera laws UK.Contact our Property Disputes Team on 01225 462871 or complete the Contact Form below. |
If you feel eyes upon you while walking around your neighbourhood, you probably are. But these days, it’s not so much a case of twitching curtains as video doorbells. And the inquisitive resident may not even be home. Instead, viewable remotely from phones and tablets, your nosy neighbour might be reclining by the pool on holiday. With the issue of privacy never far from the headlines these days, it’s unsurprising that people are beginning to question whether there are doorbell camera laws UK.
Ring doorbell privacy issues UK
We’ve grown accustomed to CCTV cameras in public areas and along major roads. And we accept, perhaps grudgingly, that Big Brother now plays a significant role in fighting crime and keeping us safe. Yet, not so long ago, turning off the main road into a residential street meant the instant restoration of privacy. So, it’s unsurprising that Ring video doorbells and their like are causing a growing sense of surveillance paranoia in suburbia.
Doorbell camera laws UK: Information Commissioner’s Office
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) says we must use any form of domestic CCTV system or video image-capturing device in such a way as to respect other people’s privacy. They say that data protection laws do not apply if your system captures only images within the boundary of your property, including your garden.
However, if your system captures images of people outside your boundaries, then the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018 apply. That’s because you are processing personal data, ie images and sometimes audio recordings. Yet, in most cases, your domestic system should be covered by Article 2(2)(a) of the UK GDPR, which exempts the:
“processing of personal data by an individual in the course of purely personal or household activity”
Neighbours Ring doorbell facing my house
However, in a privacy case decided in 2021, a judge ruled that a homeowner must compensate his neighbour after finding that the homeowner’s video system had collected data outside his property boundaries. One camera:
“had a very wide field of view and captured the claimant’s personal data as she drove in and out of the car park.”
Now, I must stress that this was not a case of a single video doorbell versus a paranoid neighbour. Rather, the defendant had set up a network of cameras on his property to watch his neighbour’s activities.
However, this case demonstrates that the UK GDPR can catch a domestic camera system in certain situations. And if it is caught, the homeowner must comply with all data protection principles, including transparency via privacy notices. They must also ensure that the data processing:
“is adequate, relevant and not excessive.”
Remember, data subjects have rights concerning their data. That includes the right to see a copy and request deletion (with some exceptions).
In conclusion, this case does not mean that you should remove your video doorbell. But it does mean you should think carefully about the camera’s position and potential impact on your neighbours’ privacy.