My neighbour has installed a CCTV camera and it is pointing towards my house/garden. Is this a breach of the Data Protection Act?
If your neighbour is a residential property not operating for commercial purposes, the answer is no. The Data Protection Act protects the personal information processed by organisations. When CCTV is installed for personal domestic use it is not regulated by the Data Protection Act. If you are concerned about the use of domestic CCTV it may be worth contacting your local police. If your neighbour is a business then they will need to comply with the Act. For more information, contact our helpline or read our CCTV code of practice.
If your neighbour’s camera is installed on their residential property and being used for their own personal domestic use, they are unlikely to be breaching the Data Protection Act. This is because the use of CCTV cameras for domestic security purposes is exempt from the data protection principles. This applies when a person uses CCTV to protect their home from burglary, even if the camera overlooks the street or other areas near their home. If your neighbour is using CCTV for business purposes they will need to comply with the Act. If you are concerned about the use of domestic CCTV it may be worth contacting your local police. For more information, contact our helpline or read our CCTV code of practice.
Related Questions
- My neighbour has installed two CCTV cameras on the front of his house, and Im worried they are being used to spy on me; what I can I do about them?
- My neighbour has installed a CCTV camera and it is pointing towards my house/garden. Is this a breach of the Data Protection Act?
- What powers does the information commissioner have to impose penalties on organisations that breach the data protection act?
