A bar owner has been prosecuted by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) for failing to register his premises’ use of CCTV equipment.
Mohammed Ali Enayet, owner of The Lime Lounge in Cleveleys, Lancashire, failed to notify with the ICO despite operating CCTV equipment that was regularly collecting the images of people visiting his restaurant. The bar owner also ignored three letters from the data protection watchdog informing him he needed to register and failed to attend an earlier hearing. Mr Enayet was fined £100 and ordered to pay £250 prosecution costs by Blackpool Magistrates on August 1. He will also pay £15 victim surcharge.
The ICO pointed out after the case that notification is a legal requirement for organisations processing and collecting CCTV images under the Data Protection Act. Most organisations will be required to pay an annual notification fee of £35 and provide details about the types of personal information they process.
Information Commissioner, Christopher Graham, said: “We know that the use of CCTV causes concern to members of the public. It is therefore important that businesses operating CCTV equipment notify with the ICO and are open about the way they are using people’s personal information. Failure to notify is a criminal offence.
“Despite writing to Mr Enayet on three occasions to remind him that his business was breaching the Data Protection Act, he failed to respond and he is now paying the price for his disregard for the law.”
The ICO has produced an online self assessment tool to help businesses determine whether they need to notify.
