Privacy watchdog sounds alarm over video doorbells

The Dutch privacy watchdog Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens had over 1,000 phone calls last year from people who were concerned cameras were filming more than they should be.

The complaints concerned both surveillance cameras and doorbell cameras such as Ring, the Volkskrant reported on Friday.

Some 1.2 million Dutch homes now have a doorbell with a camera – which means one in seven households can see who comes to their door before answering it.

“Privacy is a basic right but that right is being continually infringed upon because the whole country is full of privately-owned cameras,” AP chairman Aleid Wolfsen told the paper.

Most video doorbells break the law because they also film public space, the AP says, based on its own research. However, lack of capacity prevents the watchdog from looking into all the complaints it gets.

In 2023 there were 38 legal disputes between neighbours about the use of video doorbells, the Volkskrant said.

The police, however, welcome the additional surveillance and 314,000 privately owned cameras are now part of the Camera in Beeld network, including 60,000 video doorbells. Once registered, police can ask to access the footage as part of a criminal or other investigation.

Private footage formed part of 5,500 court cases between October 2020 and 2023, justice minister Dilan Yesilgöz told MPs last October.