If you own a business that uses surveillance cameras without warning your customers, you could be stepping over a legal line, warns B.C.’s privacy commissioner.
The Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner for B.C. is launching an education campaign about privacy laws aimed at businesses that use video surveillance.
The office found only 3% of the businesses surveyed are aware that they are obliged to inform their customers if they are using video surveillance for security, crime prevention or any other purpose.
Privacy commissioner Elizabeth Denham suggests some B.C. businesses may be using video surveillance without good reason.
“Just because the technology is available doesn’t mean it’s right for every business,” she said. “Under the Personal Information Protection Act, companies must have a defined problem that the surveillance is designed to address, and customers must be notified before they are captured on camera.”
Denham’s office will be conducting another survey of businesses to determine how many companies are aware of their obligations to protect personal information of their customers and employees under provincial law. The survey will be part of the office’s public education campaign.
Nelson Bennett
@nbennett_biv