A ‘smart’ video doorbell from the Ring brand. Image Justin Sullivan / Getty
Last year, the Dutch Data Protection Authority (AP) received a total of 1,050 calls from concerned citizens who suspected that a camera in the area was filming more than is permitted under privacy legislation. A year earlier there were eight hundred callers. The calls concern both ‘regular’ cameras and doorbell cameras, the boxes that hang at the front door and also serve as a bell. According to the authority, reporters are very concerned about this because they feel ‘being spied on’.
The number of doorbell cameras in the Netherlands has increased rapidly in recent years. In 2021, there were already 640 thousand of these bells with cameras on front doors, according to market researcher Multiscope. In 2023, the Netherlands had 1.2 million video doorbells. This means that almost one in seven Dutch households now has such a video doorbell.
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Iva Venneman is a general reporter for De Volkskrant.
“Privacy is a fundamental right,” says AP chairman Aleid Wolfsen. ‘But because the entire country is now full of private cameras, that right is continuously violated.’
Public space
The supervisory authority normally follows up on reports by informing citizens about the rules and, if necessary, investigating on site whether there has been a violation of privacy legislation. But due to a capacity shortage and the many complaints, the independent supervisor is not able to do this now. Based on the research that has been done, the authority concludes that ‘the majority of video doorbells are there illegally’. The bubbles usually also film part of the public space, even though that is not allowed.
Because the privacy watchdog has insufficient capacity for enforcement, a dispute between neighbors about cameras regularly ends in a lawsuit. This happened at least 38 times in 2023, according to public judgments on Rechtspraak.nl. “This is very burdensome for people and it costs society money,” says Wolfsen. ‘Enforcement would be better.’
The police are actually pleased that more and more cameras are hanging at front doors, because the images are useful in criminal investigations. There are now 314 thousand private cameras registered with the Camera in Image project. About 60 thousand of them hang on houses. This way, the police know where to ring the bell if they are looking for video material. “It sometimes seems as if the police actually encourage putting up those cameras,” says Wolfsen. “That irritates us.”
Although most people hang a camera on their home for security reasons, having a camera does not prevent home burglaries, says Marc Schuilenburg, professor of digital surveillance at Erasmus University. The police do suggest that doorbells have a ‘deterrent’ effect. But according to the professor, research shows only a small effect: burglars stay inside less long if there is camera surveillance.
Evidence
Video material from private individuals is now regularly used in legal cases, even if a camera actually films more than is permitted. It played a role in 5,500 lawsuits between October 2020 and October 2023, according to a letter that outgoing minister Dilan Yesilgöz sent to Parliament in October. “For that reason, I am pleased with the growth in the number of private cameras registered with the police,” the outgoing minister wrote at the time.
Wolfsen of the Dutch Data Protection Authority suspects that police officers wrongly believe that owners of video doorbells are not in violation. ‘The fact that it can be used as evidence in court gives the impression that those cameras are there lawfully, while that is not the case.’
The police dispute this and emphasize that it is up to the judge to determine what may or may not be used as evidence. It also points out that it is the authority’s job to enforce privacy legislation.
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2024-02-23 04:00:38
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