Southampton City Council has been ordered to stop the mandatory recording of passengers and drivers in the city’s taxis.
The council has required all taxis to install CCTV recording images and audio since August 2009.
The Information Commissioner’s Office has now ruled that the audio recording is disproportionate and in breach of the Data Protection Act.
Earlier in the year Oxford City Council were forced to back down on a similar policy to install audio and video surveillance in the City’s cabs after the ICO intervened with preliminary enforcement notice.
Information Commissioner Christopher Graham said: “By requiring taxi operators to record all conversations and images while the vehicles are in use, Southampton City Council have gone too far.
“We recognise the Council’s desire to ensure the safety of passengers and drivers but this has to be balanced against the degree of privacy that most people would reasonably expect in the back of a taxi cab. It is only right that the privacy of drivers and passengers is respected. This is particularly important as many drivers will use their vehicles outside work. While CCTV can be used in taxis, local authorities must be sensible about the extent to which they mandate its use, particularly when audio recording is involved.”
The Data Protection Act states that personal data can only be collected when it is fair and lawful to do so.
The Commissioner stated in the enforcement notice that the recorded information could be used for purposes other than those originally intended, albeit legitimate.
Southampton City Council has been told to delete any personal data in the audio recordings obtained in private hire vehicles, and to refrain from recording any such personal data in the future.
The ICO advise that images should only be recorded on CCTV in private hire vehicles when it is clearly justifiable. Audio recordings meanwhile should only be made on very rare occasions for example where a number of serious incidents are happening and recording in triggered due to a specific threat in a cab.
Mr Graham added:”We hope this action sends a clear message to local authorities that they must properly consider all the legal obligations on them before requiring the installation of CCTV or similar equipment and that audio recording should be very much the exception, rather than the rule.”