17/11/2025
Your CCTV camera's field of view should stop at your fence. When it doesn't, the cost can be steep.
The Your CCTV camera's field of view should stop at your fence. When it doesn't, the cost can be steep. The Office of the Data Protection Commissioner just made this clear with a ๐๐๐ 200, 000 fine for a homeowner whose CCTV made a neighbor feel like theyโre living in a fishbowl.
A neighbor installed CCTV cameras for security. But the cameras were positioned in a way that they peered into the neighboring kitchen and private compound.
The affected family complained. They involved lawyers, the local chief, and the police. The cameras were only finally adjusted after a formal complaint was lodged with the ODPC.
The ODPC held that this was a violation of the right to privacy. The right to security does not trump the right to privacy inside one's own home.
This case is a lesson for every homeowner, business owner and property manager who uses CCTV.
You have a right to protect your property. You do not have the right to surveil someone else.
Here are the broader issues this case highlights for any CCTV installation.
1. It is not enough to point a camera at your gate. You must ensure its gaze stops at your property line. A camera that scans a public street or a neighbor's window is processing personal data without consent.
2. Yes, security is a legitimate reason for data processing. But the law requires proportionality. The least intrusive method must be used. A wide-angle lens capturing a neighbor's patio is not proportional.
3. When a data subject asks you to stop processing their data, you have a limited time to respond. In Kenya, it is 14 days. Ignoring requests for months, as happened here, is itself a breach of the law.
4. The respondents claimed they never intended to spy. The law does not care about intent in the same way. The effect, the unauthorized collection of personal data from a private space, is what constitutes the violation.
5. Conduct a privacy impact assessment for your cameras. Audit their sightlines regularly. Respond immediately if someone raises a concern.
Protecting your property should not mean invading someone else's privacy.
Attached is a copy of the decision.
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The office of the data protection commissioner just made this clear with a ๐๐๐ 200, 000 fine for a homeowner whose CCTV made a neighbor feel like theyโre living in a fishbowl.
A neighbor installed CCTV cameras for security. But the cameras were positioned in a way that they peered into the neighboring kitchen and private compound.
The affected family complained. They involved lawyers, the local chief, and the police. The cameras were only finally adjusted after a formal complaint was lodged with the ODPC.
The ODPC held that this was a violation of the right to privacy. The right to security does not trump the right to privacy inside one's own home.
This case is a lesson for every homeowner, business owner and property manager who uses CCTV.
You have a right to protect your property. You do not have the right to surveil someone else.
Here are the broader issues this case highlights for any CCTV installation.
1. It is not enough to point a camera at your gate. You must ensure its gaze stops at your property line. A camera that scans a public street or a neighbor's window is processing personal data without consent.
2. Yes, security is a legitimate reason for data processing. But the law requires proportionality. The least intrusive method must be used. A wide-angle lens capturing a neighbor's patio is not proportional.
3. When a data subject asks you to stop processing their data, you have a limited time to respond. In Kenya, it is 14 days. Ignoring requests for months, as happened here, is itself a breach of the law.
4. The respondents claimed they never intended to spy. The law does not care about intent in the same way. The effect, the unauthorized collection of personal data from a private space, is what constitutes the violation.
5. Conduct a privacy impact assessment for your cameras. Audit their sightlines regularly. Respond immediately if someone raises a concern.
Protecting your property should not mean invading someone else's privacy.
Attached is a copy of the decision.
