“Video camera surveillance is on the increase, but users of this technology don’t observe all sections of the law concerning the use of surveillance. Many companies and communities that make use of surveillance technology refuse to show recordings to a customer requesting to see them even though the law clearly requires that this be done.
A survey Turun Sanomat conducted revealed that many communities break the law, maybe unconsciously. Some even believe that the law proscribes showing pictures taken by CCTV cameras to a private person. In reality, it’s the opposite, with the common practice of not letting people see the recordings being illegal.
Many users of CCTV agree to only show recordings to the police. However, Data Protection Ombudsman Reijo Aarnio points out that every citizen has the right to see a given recording, even get a copy of it, if he or she appears in it.
‘These sorts of cases come up from time to time. Often they involve some demand being made of a person, but when he or she demands the recording in order to point out that there are no grounds for such a demand, the company or community don’t want to make the recording available,’ says Aarnio.”
TURUN SANOMAT 5 February
LEHTIKUVA - JARNO MELA
