At an executive meeting of southwest China's Chongqing municipal government on Monday,
China's first local provision on the management of security cameras
to protect citizen's privacy and commercially sensitive information
was passed.?
The provision gives special attention to the protection of
citizen's rights of privacy including photography and commercial
aspects of business in the municipality which are under threat
because of the wide use of such cameras. The provision advises
those with security cameras to strictly manage their systems and
the staff using them. The video or images captured on cameras
should not be bought or sold, distributed or played illegally.
According to a People's Daily report, Chongqing will
install security cameras at all arterial roads and main crossings,
entrances, exits and main passages of key public security buildings
and entertainment venues. The municipal public security bureau will
supervise the installation, use and management of the cameras.
The majority of security cameras in use at present are installed
individually by departments or companies without any unified
standards. The provision requires that cameras be registered with
local public security authorities within 30 days of installation.
These authorities are obligated to optimize the use of such
equipment on government buildings and get access to those
non-government cameras for public security purposes.
(China.org.cn by Zhang Yunxing, July 12, 2006)
