recording people in public
Topic: Surveillance. Activity pages act as clean lookup hubs rather than a second content source.
Activity overview
What this hub is for
This activity currently has 21 starter country rows in the reset dataset. The current sample leans toward restricted outcomes, which is enough to test browse flows without pretending the dataset is complete.
Starter comparison cards
These show the countries currently mapped for this activity in the reset dataset.
Australia
Recording people in public in Australia is not automatically unlawful but organisations and agencies using security cameras or similar surveillance devices generally must comply with privacy rules and relevant state or territory surveillance laws.
Austria
Austria’s Data Protection Authority says photo and video recording needs a lawful basis and proportionality. Recording people in public therefore depends on what is being recorded, why, and how broadly the recording intrudes on others.
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina's data-protection authority says video surveillance is processing of personal data and must meet necessity, proportionality and accountability requirements. Recording people in public is therefore not a free-for-all if identifiable individuals are being monitored.
Canada
Recording people in public is not automatically unlawful in Canada but organizations using overt video surveillance still need a specific justified purpose and should use the least privacy invasive measure that works.
Denmark
Official Danish guidance treats public image or audio capture by controllers such as CCTV or bodycams as personal-data processing with duties around lawful purpose, notice, rights and deletion, and audio capture is normally subject to stricter criminal-law consent rules.
Finland
Recording people in public in Finland is not automatically free of rules. The data-protection authority treats camera surveillance as lawful only where the purpose, necessity and transparency requirements are met.
France
Recording people in public is not a clean yes or no in France because publication or reuse of footage featuring a recognisable isolated person generally needs consent even if the image was taken in a public place.
Germany
Recording people in public in Germany is not automatically unlawful but it remains subject to personality rights and data protection limits and some recordings can be criminal.
All current country rows
The table remains useful for auditing coverage and row state while the data is still sparse.
| Country | Status | Row state |
|---|---|---|
| Australia | Depends | verified |
| Austria | Depends | verified |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | Depends | verified |
| Canada | Depends | verified |
| Denmark | Depends | verified |
| Finland | Depends | verified |
| France | Depends | verified |
| Germany | Depends | verified |
| Hong Kong | Depends | verified |
| Iceland | Depends | verified |
| India | Unclear | verified |
| Ireland | Depends | verified |
| Japan | Unclear | verified |
| Luxembourg | Depends | verified |
| New Zealand | Depends | verified |
| Oman | Depends | verified |
| Poland | Depends | verified |
| Singapore | Depends | verified |
| Switzerland | Depends | verified |
| United Kingdom | Depends | verified |
| United States | Depends | verified |