Jonny Chard | News Editor
Featured image: Students may not be aware that they are being watched by cameras due to lack of corresponding signage required by law. | Mustapha Safadieh
The York communication studies department has discovered numerous York surveillance cameras that currently may not comply with Canadian privacy law.
Students in COMN 4201, Resistance and Subversion on the Internet, and COMN 4204, Public Communication and Political Discourse, surveyed different parts of campus as part of an assignment using the counter-surveillance app, SurveillanceWatch.
The assignment aimed to engage students in the ongoing surveillance and privacy debate through the use of crowdsourcing data.
By using the app, students were asked to find, identify and catalogue surveillance cameras around York’s Keele campus and note whether they had a corresponding sign.
The group found that many of York’s cameras are in violation of privacy law, as they lack accessible and visible signage.
According to the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act ‘Openness Principle,’ an organization is required to make specific information about policies and practices readily available to individuals.
Professor Jonathan Obar, course director for the classes, states that although surveillance cameras are a key contribution to safety, they need to comply with the law.
“Security on campus is a necessity. That being said, we cannot ignore another necessity—the protection of civil liberties,” he says.
“Appropriate signage will not only help with privacy law compliance, it may also act as a deterrent.”
Chris Abdilla, fourth-year communication studies student, was surprised by the results of the exercise.
“What really surprised me was that there were almost no signs to be found anywhere,” he says.
“I feel like they should post a sign on the entrance of a building […] it’s only proper to let people know that the area is being surveilled.”
Barbara Joy of York media emphasizes that York takes the safety of students very seriously, having invested in new technology and programs to strengthen campus safety.
“With respect to CCTV cameras, York follows the ‘Guidelines for the Use of Video Surveillance’ issued by the Information & Privacy Commissioner for Ontario,” she adds.
Joy states that at the 700 CCTV locations around campus, signage is prominently displayed on the perimeter of monitored areas and at key locations within the areas.
“We are sensitive to the need for transparency and the protection of privacy in the use of CCTV cameras. They are in place to support the high quality of life at York by deterring crime and supporting safety,” she says.
She also stresses that images are only used for safety purposes and that managerial expectation and oversight is continuous.
Big help, big help. And sulrvpatiee news of course.