{"id":1962,"date":"2025-06-26T11:08:44","date_gmt":"2025-06-26T09:08:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/savoidakis.eu\/?p=1962"},"modified":"2025-06-26T15:49:47","modified_gmt":"2025-06-26T13:49:47","slug":"not-just-watching-the-dog","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/savoidakis.eu\/?p=1962","title":{"rendered":"Not Just Watching the Dog"},"content":{"rendered":"

In Decision 21\/2025<\/a>, the Hellenic Data Protection Authority (HDPA) revisits a recurring misconception: that the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) does not apply to private households. The case involved a couple who operated a restaurant and lived on the same premises, which they monitored using a set of security cameras. A neighbouring property owner filed a complaint after discovering that at least one of the cameras recorded not only the couple\u2019s own premises but also his adjoining land and a portion of a public street.<\/p>\n

The HDPA reviewed the footage and found that the cameras included a rotating surveillance device<\/strong>\u00a0with fields of view extending beyond the private domain. Despite the couple\u2019s claim that one camera merely recorded their stable, the evidence suggested otherwise.<\/p>\n

The Authority ruled that this type of surveillance no longer falls within the GDPR\u2019s limited household exemption. Whenever monitoring captures public space<\/strong> or third-party property<\/strong>, it triggers full compliance obligations: lawful basis under Article 6, transparency under Article 12, data minimisation, and above all, respect for the rights of data subjects under Articles 15 et seq. GDPR.<\/p>\n

In the operative part of the Decision, each of the two individuals was fined a total of \u20ac3.000, comprising \u20ac2.000 for infringing the principles of lawfulness, purpose limitation, and accountability under Article 5 GDPR, and \u20ac1.000 for failing to comply with the data subject\u2019s right of access under Article 15 GDPR.<\/p>\n

But what about domestic stuff? Although the facts of the case centred on a neighbour, the ruling serves as a strong reminder for private individuals, who use surveillance tools to monitor baby sitters<\/strong>, cleaners<\/strong>, gardeners<\/strong>, or other domestic workers at their household. Even in one\u2019s home, recording another person, particularly in the context of a work relationship, is considered data processing<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

This means that any surveillance carried out within a household must have a clearly documented legal basis, such as freely given consent or a legitimate interest that can be properly justified. The monitoring must be proportionate to its purpose, limited in scope, and objectively necessary. The person being monitored must be informed in a transparent way, and their rights, including access and objection, must be fully respected. Any recordings must be securely stored, with access strictly controlled.<\/p>\n

Crucially, when private individuals monitor third parties with whom they are contractually related, they are considered data controllers under Article 4 par. 7 GDPR. Simply being a private household does not exempt one from compliance.<\/p>\n

If a nanny can be dismissed for breaching trust, then the same standard should apply to employers, who secretly monitor them without a valid legal basis and without informing them, as the law requires.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In Decision 21\/2025, the Hellenic Data Protection Authority (HDPA) revisits a recurring misconception: that the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) does not apply to private households. The case involved a couple who operated a restaurant and lived on the same premises, which they monitored using a set of security cameras. A neighbouring property owner filed … Continue reading “Not Just Watching the Dog”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1965,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[5],"tags":[19,42,6],"class_list":["post-1962","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-law","tag-gdpr","tag-hdpa","tag-privacy"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/savoidakis.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/free-photo-of-home-monitoring-security-camera-scaled.jpeg?fit=2560%2C1708&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8gfA0-vE","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/savoidakis.eu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1962","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/savoidakis.eu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/savoidakis.eu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/savoidakis.eu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/savoidakis.eu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1962"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/savoidakis.eu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1962\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1971,"href":"https:\/\/savoidakis.eu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1962\/revisions\/1971"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/savoidakis.eu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1965"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/savoidakis.eu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1962"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/savoidakis.eu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1962"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/savoidakis.eu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1962"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}