Neighbour wins privacy row over smart doorbell and cameras
News and information from the Advent IM team.
- by Olivia Lawlor-Blackburn
- Industry News
A judge has ruled that security cameras and a Ring doorbell installed in a house in Oxfordshire “unjustifiably invaded” the privacy of a neighbour.
Dr Mary Fairhurst claimed that the devices installed on the house of neighbour Jon Woodard broke data laws and contributed to harassment.
The judge upheld both these claims. Mr Woodard now faces a substantial fine. He claimed he installed the devices in good faith as a deterrent against burglars. The judgment reads that Dr Fairhurst was “alarmed and appalled” to notice that he had a camera mounted on his shed and that footage from it was sent to his smartphone.
A series of disputes about the cameras followed, which resulted in Dr Fairhurst moving out of her home.
Judge Melissa Clarke found that audio data collected by cameras on a shed, in a driveway and on the Ring doorbell was processed unlawfully. She noted that at the time it was not possible to turn off the audio recording facility – that happened in an update in 2020.
Read via BBC