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Cameras in Switzerland

by duncanap
Thu, Apr 13, 2023 15:55
4

I am lucky to live near Geneva, the riding is fantastic. Amazing roads and climbs, and generally really considerate drivers. However there are still quite a few dodgy ones out there. I have been told that dashcams and cameras on bikes are not allowed as Swiss privacy law is very strong. Does anyone else have experience of using a camera in Switzerland? I see some dashcams around but generally in French registered cars.

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duncanap | 1 year ago
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I spoke to a friendof a friend who is a Swiss lawyer, and it seems that as well as the GDPR considerations, Swiss law goes a lot further to protect peoples expectation of privacy. The last time the courts considered use of dashcams - which I guess is effectively the same, they made the following points, sorry the web page is in German:

https://www.edoeb.admin.ch/edoeb/de/home/datenschutz/technologien/videoueberwachung/erlaeuterungen-zu-videoueberwachung-in-fahrzeugen--dashcam-.html

1, they should only be used for serious accidents, not for everyday infringements (so no close pass reporting)

2, Ideally they should only record important events. This is consistent with a camera which overwrites data after a short period and only retains data marked by the user or some crash detection system

3, only the police or another competent investigating authority should use the footage, and the footage should not be used for entertainment (no posting onlne for example)

But if you stick to these principles, having a camera is not illegal, but neither is it much use except for your relatives to find out what really happened if something truly bad occurs. So I think I will leave them off the bike for the moment.

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lonpfrb replied to duncanap | 1 year ago
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duncanap wrote:

I spoke to a friend of a friend who is a Swiss lawyer, and it seems that as well as the GDPR considerations, Swiss law goes a lot further to protect peoples expectation of privacy. The last time the courts considered use of dashcams - which I guess is effectively the same, they made the following points, sorry the web page is in German:

https://www.edoeb.admin.ch/edoeb/de/home/datenschutz/technologien/videoueberwachung/erlaeuterungen-zu-videoueberwachung-in-fahrzeugen--dashcam-.html

Like UK there is some unrealistic expectation from the CH legal profession:
"A deputy sheriff mentality is to be avoided. In particular, private dashcams should not be used to systematically monitor other road users. It is up to the police to ensure safety on the road."

The UK experience is that 'the police to ensure safety on the road' is the exception not the norm.

I will be sure to check the reality with my Swiss colleagues though cycle infra is normal in Zurich thus reducing road danger.

So close passing is not possible on segregated cycle paths, this the assumption in point 1.
According to the guidance: "If dashcam recordings are to be used as evidence in an incident, the law enforcement agency involved must decide whether the incident is sufficiently serious to outweigh the interference with the personal rights of the people filmed. If this is not the case, the recordings may not be admitted as evidence."

Is being scared for your life sufficiently serious to outweigh the interference with the personal rights of the people filmed?
#OpClosePass
#VisionZero

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lonpfrb | 1 year ago
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I work in Zurich Airport where there is constant surveillance on the Air side. Since we must provide Passport and DBS check evidence to get our identity pass that is constantly on display there is no expectation for privacy.

Since bike cameras only record what is in plain public sight any GDPR relevance is bogus. Vehicle registration plates are not PII since no person is identified by it. Only the competent authority that is provided with the evidence of a vehicle registration can get the details of the registered keeper (PII) so become a Data Controller. Since they already are, your evidence changes nothing about the data protection. Police access to vehicle registration data is business as usual..
The country that devised the Geneva Convention and the Red Cross does not expect or accept that vehicle users would not respect the safety of other people so that probably affects the use of cameras to hold people to account for their actions. Un-Swiss behaviour...

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mark1a replied to lonpfrb | 1 year ago
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lonpfrb wrote:

Since bike cameras only record what is in plain public sight any GDPR relevance is bogus. Vehicle registration plates are not PII since no person is identified by it. Only the competent authority that is provided with the evidence of a vehicle registration can get the details of the registered keeper (PII) so become a Data Controller.

I thought that one could look up the owner name & address of a Swiss plate via the AutoIndex system? Something I thought contributed to the friendly standards of driving when I passed through on the way to Stelvio Pass a few years ago. 

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