It happens that an incident or some unpleasant situation involving children and students occurs in schools or kindergartens. In some cases, the parents of the children who were involved in the respective situation express doubts about the circumstances and often request access to the video recordings. In such situations, some important requirements of the legislation in the field of personal data protection should be taken into account, and the purpose of this article is to provide clarity on how to legally grant access to video recordings from a video surveillance system of schools or kindergartens.
In cases where a school or kindergarten receives a request from a parent (the parent exercises protection of children on their behalf in his/her capacity as a legal representative) for access to a recording from their video surveillance system, the personal data controller is obliged to provide a copy of the personal data that is being processed (in accordance with the requirement of Article 15, paragraph 3 of Regulation 679/2016). During video surveillance, other persons are often recorded, and in accordance with the requirements of Article 15, paragraph 4 of the Regulation, the right to obtain a copy of the personal data shall not adversely affect the rights and freedoms of other persons. In such cases, if a copy of the recording containing the images of other persons is provided, it may adversely affect their rights and freedoms (for example, when sharing between third parties, publishing on social networks). On the other hand, the controller should not refuse the right of access in case it processes the personal data of the individual. To prevent this from happening, the controller can, for example, edit the images of other persons within the scope of the recorded video by covering or blurring them. Of course, if this is not possible, access to the video recording may also be lawful if the express written consent of the parents of all other children/students within the scope of the recording is obtained and only then a copy of the video recording is provided to the parent who has exercised the right of access. Another option for providing access is to provide only screenshots, in which only the image of the child is visible, and the images of the other persons are deleted, or to provide access to the video recording on site, only if the parents of the other persons recorded are notified and are present during the review, for which a protocol must be drawn up certifying the review of the recording.
In the event that a judicial or investigative authority requests, in accordance with the relevant procedure, that a copy be provided, the controller shall provide the recording without covering or blurring. It is important to note that according to the provision of Art. 56, para. 4 of the Private Security Act, “records from technical video surveillance devices shall be stored in the “Video Surveillance” register for two months after their preparation.” This norm is imperative and therefore the records should be stored for exactly two months. In the event of automatic deletion of the data after the expiry of the two-month period, access cannot be granted. In the event that access is requested before the expiry of the two-month period, subsequent processing of the video surveillance records, after the expiry of the statutory period of two months, will be permissible only for specific records for the purposes of protecting the data subject or the rights and freedoms of other persons or the enforcement of civil claims.
This material prepared by Krasimira Kadieva aims to provide information how lawful access to video recordings from a video surveillance system of schools or kindergartens shall be legally granted. It does not constitute a legal opinion and cannot be interpreted as individual consultation on any concrete facts or circumstances. The advice of a data protection specialist should be obtained for specific questions and situations. For more information on the above-mentioned issues and individual consultations, please contact Krasimira Kadieva at 00359 882 308 670 or make an inquiry using the contact form of this website.