DATA PROTECTION:
Article by Dave Lawrie, Director NPHTA
info@nphta.co.uk
I have spent more than a decade trying to raise awareness in our industry about the importance of complying with UK GDPR rules relating to how personal data is stored and processed.
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is the UK’s regulatory authority responsible for promoting and enforcing this legislation. However the ICO has actually caused a lot of confusion, as its blogs are often unclear and miss out the most relevant information.
BACKGROUND Let me take you back to where it all began
Back in 1998, I was a licensed hackney carriage driver and became chair of Rossendale Taxi Association to give local drivers a voice as I was horrified at how members of our trade were being treated.
Criminal law = burden of proof – prosecution
When a passenger commits an offence, such as a physical assault,
racial or verbal abuse, bilking,
vandalism or being sick, the police are in no rush to come, regularly dismissing incidents as being a civil matter; and if they do attend, often no further action is taken due to lack of evidence.
Civil law = balance of probabilities - councils - suspensions
And yet, when a passenger makes a report, whether very minor, totally exaggerated, a serious accusation or as we often see, a false allegation, the passenger is always believed; the driver is left extremely vulnerable and at risk of losing their licence simply due to lack of a defence.
Creating a solution
When I was personally attacked in 2010, I was not only victim of the assault but also victim of the lack of police support. So, I had an inspirational idea that we could install cameras to provide both evidence AND defence; imagine my delight when I found a cheap twin lens dashcam exactly like the one pictured above:
56 CURRENT SITUATION
Since then, it has been my mission to explain clearly to everyone in our trade about UKGDPR regulations; the importance of data protection, to ensure data can never be stolen, compromised and shared; and the potential risks of using illegal devices.
ICO rules for internal recording products
The ICO rules make it clear that dashcams fail to satisfy any of the four points below, so they are noncompliant to record internally in a licensed public space, such as a taxi or PHV.
1. Any recording device must be “anchored down” (securely mounted)
2. The data must be stored away from the camera head to protect it from unauthorised removal (theft)
3. The data must be encrypted to a minimum standard of FIPS 140-2 to protect the data from unauthorised viewing and sharing (by the thief)
4. Where there’s audio, it should be permanently disabled, and only used where justifiable and activated by a panic switch (activation switch)
Does council approval for devices mean they are compliant?
No, I’m afraid this is not always the case; many councils still quote the DPA 2008, which mandated a maximum
FEBRUARY 2025 PHTM
Excellent I thought, it was small, easy to install, and for less than £50; it recorded everything I needed it to, including audio, so, I bought one, easily fitted it in my cab, and then all the other local drivers wanted one too.
I bulk ordered and installed them all; but I soon realised that the data did not record for long enough and transferring it to a computer on a daily basis was simply not a long-term workable solution.
The risk of being caught
By chance, five weeks later, I picked up a passenger who was a solicitor specialising in data protection law. He questioned me about the dashcam, he told me about the ICO and Data Protection Act 1998 rules and advised me to take the camera out.
I did my research, the regulations were daunting, but I digested the information and realised that the dashcams we were using were illegal. In fact, we could be prosecuted and heavily fined if caught using them, so I had no choice but to quickly remove them all, leaving myself and my fellow drivers exposed once more.
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