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How does video surveillance impact a person’s right to privacy?
Home » Office Equipment » Video Surveillance » How does video surveillance impact a person’s right to privacy?Video surveillance carries with it connotations of mysterious people watching you all the time and listening in on everything you say. Understandably, many individuals and groups have challenged video surveillance on the basis of an individual’s right to privacy. With this in mind, it is very important that companies understand the limits to which they can employ video surveillance.
The first rule of video surveillance is that it cannot include audio footage—you cannot listen in on the words and conversations of customers, clients, and employees. This rule maintains a basic standard of privacy and helps limit video surveillance to crime prevention without giving businesses access to private conversations.
The other primary rule of video surveillance is that businesses should only use it in public places. Several companies have faced legal battles because they placed video cameras in dressing rooms or bathrooms. Again, this is considered invasive and unnecessary for the primary uses of video surveillance.
A small number of companies use video surveillance to monitor employees—ten percent use surveillance to tape some job functions and six percent videotape all employees. The rules for employee surveillance are basically the same as all surveillance. However, companies also need to notify employees that they will be using video surveillance.
Using video surveillance on employees, however, gives the impression that the company does not trust them to work hard and work ethically. This suspicion can greatly harm the relationship between managers and workers, so think very carefully before using surveillance on employees. Whether you are using surveillance on employees or customers, limit yourself to what is absolutely necessary, and consider what kind of privacy you expect when you are visiting another business.
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