Manila: The National Privacy Commission (NPC) on Wednesday issued guidelines on the processing of personal data collected using body-worn cameras and similar devices for the protection of personal data and data privacy rights.
According to Philippines News Agency, NPC Commissioner John Henry Naga stated that the guidelines aim to ensure that technologies meant to enhance transparency and accountability do not come at the cost of unwarranted surveillance or intrusion of privacy. He emphasized the increasing complexity in balancing public safety, personal expression, and individual privacy with the growing use of body-worn cameras across various sectors, including law enforcement, private security, and digital content creation.
The guidelines are comprehensively outlined in NPC Circular 2025-01, which emphasizes a lawful basis for the processing of personal data, security measures, and the importance of secure storage, safekeeping, access control, and overall management of recordings and metadata. The circular, which became effective on Tuesday, specifies requirements for law enforcement, security personnel, and vloggers using body-worn cameras and other recording devices.
For law enforcement agencies, the circular underscores the necessity of using body-worn cameras 'transparently, fairly, and lawfully,' particularly during sensitive operations such as warrant executions. It mandates agencies to ensure proper authorization, establish clear retention policies, and implement mechanisms for public access requests and complaints.
Regarding vloggers and digital content creators, the circular clarifies that filming individuals in public or private settings, especially when these recordings are uploaded, streamed, or monetized, amounts to personal data processing. It requires content creators to adhere to the Data Privacy Act of 2012, ensuring that personal data processing activities are conducted fairly and lawfully, and that affected individuals can exercise their rights.
These data processing activities include providing adequate information to data subjects before any recording, having proper privacy notices on platforms, masking images of data subjects as needed, and being responsive to takedown or privacy requests from featured individuals.
