UK—ICO Warns of confusion over new CCTV Commissioner

The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has warned that proposals to appoint a Surveillance Camera Commissioner to oversee a new code on CCTV and surveillance camera use may cause regulatory overlap and confusion.

The code, proposed by the government’s Protection of Freedoms Bill and currently under consultation, will initially apply to local authorities and the police only. In evidence before the Public Bill Committee, the information commissioner highlighted the need to clarify the respective roles of the ICO and the Surveillance Camera Commissioner under the new law, noting “there will be overlaps in their responsibilities, running the risk that commissioners may adopt differing interpretive approaches and guidance on each others’ statutory provisions.”