Taxis allowed to install cameras to prevent attacks

The Catalan Authority for Data Protection (APDCAT) has announced that they endorse taxis to install cameras to "pursue" aggression as long as these cameras are "only activated by the driver in a dangerous situation."

Meritxell Borràs, the head of APDCAT assures that installing cameras in taxis to prevent criminal behaviour "could be lawful under the protection of legitimate interest." 

She also said that anyone using the taxi services should be informed through a visible poster detailing the use of cameras and how the data will be used. 

The data collected through the cameras cannot be kept for more than a month but deleting the footage every day is recommended when there is no criminal behaviour. If there is, the footage must be available to the authorities within 72 hours. 

"A system where the recording of the client’s voice and image is not continuous but can be activated by the driver in case of a dangerous situation, would be less intrusive on the rights of users and more respectful of the privacy of the clients," Borràs explains in the report. 

Drivers can argue that they are acting for their right on judicial protection if the images are only intended to be "used as evidence". 

Another way to endorse the use of cameras would be by regulating it by adding it into the Taxi Law.  

The unsafe situations taxi drivers suffer from are well known and notorious as they have been reported on by media before. In November of 2023 a taxi driver was killed in Barcelona after an argument in traffic.