"Increase in CCTV Installation in Apartment Complexes and Rise in Personal Data Dispute Mediation Requests"

Personal Information Protection Commission's Dispute Mediation Committee: "Caution Needed to Avoid Infringing on Neighbors' Privacy"

Photo by Personal Information Dispute Mediation Committee website

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heung-soon] The Personal Information Dispute Mediation Committee under the Personal Information Protection Commission announced on the 22nd that "recently, applications for dispute mediation related to CCTV have been increasing," and "in particular, cases requesting consultations due to disputes caused by CCTV in apartment complexes are frequent, so caution is necessary."

According to the Dispute Mediation Committee, among the applications for dispute mediation, the number of cases related to CCTV has been steadily increasing: 12 out of 275 cases in 2018, 18 out of 352 cases in 2019, and 21 out of 328 cases as of October 2020.

The types of disputes related to CCTV in apartment complexes received by the Dispute Mediation Committee are broadly divided into two categories. First, disputes arise from CCTV installed in public areas for purposes such as crime prevention and safety. These mainly occur when the operator of the video information processing device provides the video information to third parties without consent or allows third parties to view CCTV footage containing personal information, in ways that differ from the original purpose of collecting the video information (crime prevention, safety, etc.).

The Dispute Mediation Committee recommends compensation for damages by recognizing the mental harm to the data subject in cases of violation of the Personal Information Protection Act, such as unauthorized use or provision of personal video information for purposes other than consent and failure to ensure safety.

There are also cases where disputes arise from installing CCTV at private locations such as the front door of an individual's home due to increased public interest in safety. In such cases, the Dispute Mediation Committee recommends adjusting the shooting angle or installing screens to prevent filming of others' private spaces.

Operators of video information processing devices must control access and restrict access rights to prevent loss, theft, or leakage of video information in accordance with the Personal Information Protection Act. When a data subject requests to view the footage, it must be recorded in the viewing log, and any footage including third parties other than the requester must be protected by measures such as mosaic processing to safeguard personal information.

Meanwhile, the Dispute Mediation Committee plays a role in helping resolve disputes caused by personal information infringement amicably through mediation instead of litigation. Anyone whose personal information has been infringed can use the dispute mediation service free of charge. For more details, please visit the website (www.kopico.go.kr).