CAMERAS – BALANCING OF INTERESTS
06.09.2017
In the case in question, the plaintiff operated a logistics and forwarding company with around 200 employees, some of whom used a pond on a plot of land adjacent to the defendant's property during work breaks. Although the responsible authority regularly carried out noise measurements and the company had taken noise protection measures, the defendant felt disturbed by the noise from the operation. He therefore attached a functioning video camera near the property boundary, around 40 m from the pond, in order to independently record noise peaks in the form of sound recordings. The camera was aimed at the plaintiff's property. The recordings made by the camera contained image and sound material as well as the date and time. If people were present near the camera, their voices were clearly audible. Ultimately, the defendant had to remove the camera because its location and orientation represented an invasion of the privacy of the employees of the neighboring company. An invasion of privacy occurs when neighbors have a legitimate reason to fear that they are in the surveillance area and are recorded by the recordings due to the location or orientation of a video camera. According to established case law, the principles developed for (active) cameras also apply to dummy cameras.
In principle, the installation of cameras is not prohibited, but a legitimate interest and an appropriate measure are required if the camera is aimed at the neighboring property to justify its installation.
In this case, however, the video camera installed to detect and document noise pollution is not the most gentle means of achieving the objective of interest, i.e. measuring noise. The use of a noise or sound level meter is a milder means here.
Conclusion: Caution is advised when setting up cameras. Although cameras may be set up to protect property, care must be taken when setting them up so that neighbors do not feel monitored. If cameras are aimed at the neighbor's property, this represents an invasion of the neighbor's privacy and is therefore not permitted.