Camera surveillance through the privacy lens
Review report – ‘Camera surveillance through the privacy lens: Local government use of camera surveillance in public spaces and privacy impact assessments’
Camera surveillance systems that capture personal information are subject to the provisions of the Information Privacy Act 2009 (Qld) (the Information Privacy Act). The Information Privacy Act protects information privacy when agencies collect, store, handle, manage, use or disclose personal information.
A privacy impact assessment assists agencies to identify and meet their obligations under the Information Privacy Act. A privacy impact assessment is a useful tool that supports an agency in being thorough in identifying and considering privacy risks and finding ways to manage or mitigate those risks.
The review examined the use of privacy impact assessments by Queensland’s local governments when implementing, expanding or upgrading their use of camera surveillance in public spaces. The review also examined in greater detail privacy impact assessments from six local governments.
It details responses provided by local governments to a questionnaire about their management of privacy issues and risks in association with the use of camera surveillance. The review also examined privacy impact assessments undertaken by six local governments.
The review found that:
- Local governments recognise the importance of privacy in fostering public trust, particularly in the context of camera surveillance systems, which are implemented to enhance public safety. In doing so, most local governments have established privacy policies and strategies to manage their privacy obligations.
- While privacy impact assessments are a critical tool for identifying and mitigating privacy risks, local governments do not consistently use them when implementing, expanding or upgrading camera surveillance systems.
Our review of a sample of six local government privacy impact assessments yielded mixed results. Key gaps included:
- insufficient examination of all project parameters in relation to privacy management
- limited consideration of whether camera surveillance is the most appropriate method to achieve project goals or how to minimise the collection of personal information
- inadequate coverage of emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence.
The report makes six recommendations to local governments and government agencies operating camera surveillance in public spaces.