OIC was contacted by a local council asking about the privacy considerations of installing a webcam at a local skate park. Council advised that the webcam would not be recording footage; rather it would stream live video footage to the agency’s website where it would be accessible to the community. Council specifically asked whether IPP 2 signage was required.
Council’s enquiry raised possible issues under Information Privacy Principle (IPP) 2 – Collection of personal information (requested by individual) and Section 33 – Transfer of personal information outside Australia.
Section 12 of the Information Privacy Act 2009 (Qld) (IP Act) defines personal information as information …‘whether recorded in a material form or not…’. However, the IPPs do not apply to personal information generally, they only apply to personal information contained in a document. For example, the IPPs do not apply to personal information communicated verbally if that information is never recorded in a document.
As the webcam would only be streaming live footage and not recording footage, OIC advised council that the obligations in the IPPs did not apply. Nonetheless, while council may not be obliged under IPP 2 to provide a collection notice, OIC’s view was that it would be good practice to provide the public with notification that webcams would be streaming live video to a public website, for the following reasons: