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Most of us barely look twice at security cameras anymore. They are above shop doors, beside cash registers, in parking areas and outside apartment buildings.
But cameras inside toilets are another matter entirely.
Cyprus’ Data Protection Commissioner Maria Christofidou says cameras have been found in toilets at restaurants and other establishments, and these are not simply complaints she has received from the public.
She has seen them herself.
Christofidou told Politis Radio that her office will begin inspections of restaurants, entertainment venues, and hotels in September. Problems have also been identified at some hotel premises, although she stressed that many businesses follow the rules.
The law on toilet cameras is not complicated: they are prohibited.
A restaurant may want a camera pointed at its entrance or cash register to prevent theft. A hotel may need surveillance in a parking area. Neither needs to film people in a toilet, where everyone has a basic right to privacy.
The inspections will also examine whether businesses are recording sound through their camera systems. According to the commissioner, audio recording is prohibited.
That means a camera may not only be capturing a customer’s face or movements. In some cases, it could also be picking up private conversations between customers or members of staff.
Businesses cannot install cameras wherever they find convenient. They need a lawful reason, must limit the camera’s view to what is genuinely necessary, and should control who can watch the footage and how long it is kept.
Putting up a small “CCTV in operation” sign does not make a camera in an unacceptable location legal.
The rules also apply to cameras outside private homes. People are allowed to protect their own property, but a camera should not be unnecessarily filming the neighbor's garden, the pavement, or passing cars on the street.
Christofidou said people who believe cameras are pointing toward public areas or neighboring properties can document the installation and file a complaint with her office.
This matters because surveillance cameras have become so common that many of us have stopped noticing them. Yet there is a big difference between using a camera to protect a business and watching people where they should expect complete privacy.
A toilet door is meant to close out the rest of the world. Customers should not have to wonder whether a camera is waiting on the other side.
