Southampton City Council has appealed against the Information Commissioners Office request to halt the use of CCTV in its cars.
The appeal will be heard in Spring 2013, meaning that drivers will be required to continue using the systems until then.
Meanwhile, drivers in Kent are being urged to install systems in the wake of an increase in attacks on taxi drivers in the country.
The Medway Licensed Taxi Drivers’ Association are recommending that drivers install a system that they have found that will cost just GB pound 300 per car, in order to ensure the safety of both drivers and customers.
Kent councillor in charge of community safety, Mike O’Brien, said that there was no Council-backed plan to install the systems.
Speaking with the Medway Messenger he went on to say: “I welcome and support the Medway taxi drivers’ initiative to install CCTV to protect their own safety and that of their customers, provided they follow all appropriate regulations and ensure customers are aware that CCTV has been installed in their vehicle.”
Councillors in Southampton however are determined not to see the safety of the city’s drivers undermined but the ICO ruling in July.
Deputy council leader Jacquie Rayment said that the ICO has not acknowledged the lengths they go to to protect driver and passenger privacy.
She said: “No one sees these videos unless there is an incident that needs investigating and in those cases the footage and audio becomes crucial independent evidence.
“The very fact that the cameras capture everything is a valuable deterrent against attacks, both verbal and physical.”
An ICO spokesman said that they will consider their response to the latest developments in Southampton.
