Ring doorbell rule users may not be aware of that can cost thousands if broken
More and more households are getting doorbell cameras which help people see who has come to their home and whether anything nefarious has been going on.
Ring are one of the most popular brands who sell these, but there are other companies who you can also buy from and for the rules we're going to be mentioning it really doesn't matter which brand you buy.
That's because the law isn't going to care what the brand name of the doorbell camera is if you've set it up in a way that could impact on someone's privacy.
The doorbell camera recording within the bounds of your property is fine, so if all it can see is the path to your door and your drive that's fine, but if that camera can see beyond your land then it can result in a bit of a legal pickle.
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As far as the rule goes, if you're recording beyond your property boundary then you're something called a 'data controller' and that carries some additional responsibilities.
Doorbell camera users are covered under the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018, so there are some things you need to have done before you switch it on and start recording.
You need to have a good reason why the camera is set up, 'security' is usually a valid answer, and you must put up a sign letting people know that they're passing through a patch of land where their movements are being recorded.
The recordings gathered by the camera should be kept safe, and once they're no longer needed they should be deleted, and finally if someone requests footage they appear in then you'll need to hand it over.
You could face a hefty fine if you don't follow these rules, though most of the time any disputes can be sorted out before things get legal if everyone acts reasonably.
You should be alright if you keep your camera focused on your own property as much as possible and don't pick up video and audio of other people's houses and gardens.
There was a legal case concerning this issue, Fairhurst v Woodard, where a doctor claimed harassment, nuisance and breach of law against her neighbour in 2021.
His cameras were filming video and recording audio around her home and a court decided this was 'intrusive' enough to rule against him, so camera owners should be mindful of the range of audio they're recording.
While the claim of nuisance didn't succeed, the harassment claim did in part because of the neighbour's actions, with him threatening to set up concealed cameras and saying he'd sent the claimant's image to the police.
As well as finding he'd unlawfully processed the doctor's data, the court also found the neighbour had misled her about whether the cameras he'd put up were working.
As part of the verdict the court planned to impose a substantial fine on the neighbour, and the best way to avoid that is to stick to the rules.
A court getting involved and handing out a fine is really a measure of last resort, as Curwen's Solicitors suggested that trying to solve any problem over this should start with a polite conversation and not legal action.
Topics: UK News, Technology, Crime
Joe Harker