Law firm Pinsent Masons, writing on its Out-Law blog, reports that the Court of Justice of the EU has ruled that a Czech journalist's use of a CCTV system at his home violated EU's data protection law. The court ruled that "'video surveillance' by individuals that is carried out 'even partially' in a public space is subject to the EU's Data Protection Directive, even if the camera capturing images of people is 'directed outwards from the private setting of the person processing the data.'" UK information commissioner David Smith told the blog that the CJEU's judgment applies to private people using drones with cameras: "The judgment means civilian operators of drones in public places will have to adhere to 'fair processing' requirements if capturing images that can identify individuals and may, in many cases, require them to obtain individuals' consent to the capturing of such footage, among other data protection rules that apply." The result is that the media's use of drones will require getting consent of the people being photographed and videorecorded.
Lawyer and Legal Journalist
