Protect Privacy from Traffic Cameras

Section 1. Legislative findings and declarations. The legislature finds and declares the state has increasingly used camera systems and other surveillance technologies to monitor the daily legal activities of its citizens. Even in public and quasi-public forums, increasing use of government surveillance has a chilling effect on the freedoms and activities of its citizens. Therefore, the legislature finds that the state has an obligation to establish a policy in which the public's privacy interests are protected where camera systems are increasingly used in traffic enforcement, surveillance and other areas. Where these surveillance systems are used, the state has an obligation to protect an individual's right of personal privacy, and consequently, must take all steps to protect personal privacy in all aspects of system planning, design, deployment, operation and maintenance and shall not collect or disseminate any personal identifier information.

§ 2. The public authorities law is amended by adding a new article 1-B to read as follows:

ARTICLE 1-B

PUBLIC AUTHORITY CLOSED-CIRCUIT TELEVISION SYSTEM

AND SURVEILLANCE PERSONAL PRIVACY ACT Section 52. Definitions.

53. Operation of CCTV systems; privacy protections.

54. Restrictions on recording CCTV system video.

55. Use and dissemination of CCTV system data.

EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets

[ ] is old law to be omitted.

LBD02303-01-9

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§ 52. Definitions. As used in this article:

1. The terms "closed-circuit television system," "CCTV system," or "CCTV" shall mean a video camera system and/or network used to collect, transmit and monitor data electronically via a data stream and project such data onto a video monitor, television screen or other monitoring equipment and any other system that allows the collection, viewing, transmission and recording of video images; and such a system is a closed circuit in that it has limited access, and all elements are directly connected and controlled by operators of the system. CCTV system shall not include: any images or videotape prepared pursuant to section twenty-nine hundred eighty-five of this chapter; or any system or network of cameras installed on a CCTV system operator's facilities for other than traffic management purposes.

2. "Private entity" shall mean a private corporation or other private organization, including any organization providing news media services or any other information service provider that is not a public service entity.

3. "Public service entity" shall mean any public agency, public authority, public corporation, other governmental entity, municipality, accredited academic institution, or not-for-profit public service provider.

4. "Incident" shall mean an activity that occurs on or near a public highway, roadway, or right-of-way, that has or could have an impact on the safety of the traveling public or that could cause or contribute to highway congestion, and shall include a vehicular accident, and any violation of law or similar situation that would normally involve the attention of a peace officer.

5. "Personal identifier information" shall mean any data or video representation that could:

(a) identify an individual driver or passenger in or on any vehicle;

(b) identify any license plate of a vehicle;

(c) identify the contents of the enclosed interior of a passenger vehicle; or

(d) show the individual travel pattern of a specific vehicle.

6. "CCTV system operator" shall mean any public authority as defined in this chapter that owns or operates a CCTV system.

§ 53. Operation of CCTV systems; privacy protections. 1. The cameras of a CCTV system subject to this article shall be continuously focused on the highway and feeder and exit roads for which the system is intended to provide information for traffic management, provided, however, such cameras may show adjacent lands where it is not practical to avoid such monitoring during CCTV operation as provided in this article, and this provision shall not prohibit such monitoring in the event of a public health danger or safety emergency.

2. No CCTV system operator shall allow the cameras to be focused on private property for the purpose of monitoring any activity or person on such property, provided however, that this provision shall not prohibit such monitoring to the extent that it becomes necessary in the event of a public health danger or safety emergency.

3. A CCTV system operator shall not operate its CCTV system to collect personal identifier information data, except pursuant to an order of a court of competent jurisdiction, and except that such data may be collected without a court order in a public health danger or safety emergency situation to provide for the safety of the public, including the gathering of information necessary to provide the appropriate response to an incident, or public health danger or safety emergency.

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4. A CCTV system operator shall adopt policies and practices to implement the requirements of this article. No person shall be employed in the operation of a CCTV system until he or she shall be fully trained in such policies and practices and the requirements of this article.

§ 54. Restrictions on recording CCTV system video. 1. Except as provided in this section, a CCTV system operator shall not record CCTV data. In all cases, recording of CCTV data shall be done in a manner that protects the privacy of the public.

2. A CCTV system operator may record CCTV data either on a planned basis or on an emergency basis. A CCTV system operator may establish a plan in advance for the recording of video images in response to a specific need where a review of such images would contribute to improving safety and/or future traffic operations procedures or system planning and performance including:

(a) review of a traffic operations or safety problem;

(b) to provide for future operational employee training;

(c) for research that will improve future technology or operations;

(d) to demonstrate or test equipment or system functions; or

(e) to collect data for transportation planning management purposes, provided, however, that for data gathered in accordance with this subdivision, personal identifier information shall be removed from the data or obscured before the data is stored and used.

A CCTV system operator may record response activities for particularly complex or extensive incident response activity for post-incident review for the purpose of improving operational procedures and response.

3. Any recording made pursuant to the authority of this section shall be retained in a specifically designated and secure location with access restricted only for the purpose that it was gathered and upon the approval of supervisory level personnel. Any such recordings shall be retained only for the minimum required time after use of the archived data for its intended purpose in accordance with the applicable records retention schedule or policy.

§ 55. Use and dissemination of CCTV system data. 1. A CCTV system operator shall use its CCTV system data primarily for transportation planning, traffic management and traveler information purposes. Nothing contained in this section or any other provision of law shall be construed as prohibiting a CCTV system operator from utilizing CCTV system data in a judicial or administrative action proceeding to which the operator is a party.

2. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, CCTV system data that contains personal identifier information shall not be open to the public and shall not be subject to public inspection and copying pursuant to article six of the public officers law.

3. A CCTV system operator may, in its discretion, distribute CCTV system data that does not contain personal identifier information directly to the public via the Internet or any other means directly or through public or private entities for the purposes of providing traveler information, provided that all such data disseminated from CCTV systems shall be transferred in a real time feed or in data feed with a delay of not to exceed fifteen minutes.

4. (a) A CCTV system operator may, in its discretion, disseminate its CCTV system data to other public service entities to achieve common transportation safety and management objectives. In the event of incidents, public health dangers or safety emergencies, a CCTV system operator may disseminate CCTV system data that contains personal identifier information to public service entities to the extent necessary to deal

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with such incident, danger or emergency. A CCTV system operator shall not disseminate CCTV system data that contains personal identifier information to private entities.

(b) All dissemination of CCTV system data from a CCTV system operator to a public service or private entity shall be pursuant to a written agreement that contains the following provisions:

(i) the CCTV system operator shall have complete control over the CCTV system data that is provided;

(ii) the CCTV system operator may stop transmission of CCTV system data at any time without prior approval or notice;

(iii) the receiving entity shall utilize CCTV system data only for the purposes for which the dissemination is made;

(iv) the receiving entity shall not disseminate CCTV system data to any third party without the prior written consent of the CCTV system operator;

(v) the receiving entity shall not disseminate CCTV system data that contains personal identifier information to any third party under any circumstances; and

(vi) the receiving entity shall not record any CCTV system data except as provided in this section.

(c) A written agreement between a CCTV system operator and a private entity for the dissemination of CCTV system data shall also contain the following provisions:

(i) the private entity shall not attempt to utilize CCTV system data to obtain any personal identifier information; and

(ii) if the private entity is a television news organization, the CCTV system operator may, in its sole discretion and subject to a policy established by the CCTV system operator, allow such a private entity to record CCTV system data for the sole purpose of broadcasting such images as traffic reports aired by such private entity within a twenty-four hour period of creating such recording, provided that such private entity agrees to destroy any such recording within twenty-four hours of its creation.

§ 3. The New York metropolitan transportation authority is directed to conduct a study to review all elements of its operations and create a mission statement that explicitly states the authority's use of closedcircuit television systems and other surveillance systems and what the reasonable privacy expectations of an individual are regarding the authority's use of such systems. The authority shall report within 60 days of the effective date of this act and report to the governor, the speaker of the assembly, the temporary president of the senate, the chairman of the assembly standing committee on corporations, authorities and commissions, and the chairman of the senate standing committee on corporations, authorities and commissions.

§ 4. The transportation law is amended by adding a new article 23 to read as follows:

ARTICLE 23

STATE HIGHWAY CLOSED-CIRCUIT TELEVISION SYSTEM

AND SURVEILLANCE PERSONAL PRIVACY ACT Section 500. Definitions.

501. Operation of CCTV systems; privacy protections.

502. Restrictions on recording CCTV system video.

503. Use and dissemination of CCTV system data.

§ 500. Definitions. As used in this article:

1. The terms "closed-circuit television system," "CCTV system," or "CCTV" shall mean a video camera system and/or network used to collect,

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transmit and monitor data electronically via a data stream and project such data onto a video monitor, television screen or other monitoring equipment and any other system that allows the collection, viewing, transmission and recording of video images; and is a closed circuit in that it has limited access and all elements are directly connected and controlled by operators of the system. CCTV system shall not include: any system or network of cameras installed on a CCTV system operator's facilities for other than traffic management purposes.

2. "Private entity" shall mean a private corporation or other private organization, including any organization providing news media services or any other information service provider that is not a public service entity.

3. "Public service entity" shall mean any public agency, public authority, public corporation, other governmental entity, municipality, accredited academic institution, or not-for-profit public service provider.

4. "Incident" shall mean an activity that occurs on or near a public highway, roadway, or right-of-way, that has or could have an impact on the safety of the traveling public or that could cause or contribute to highway congestion, and shall include a vehicular accident, and any violation of law or similar situation that would normally involve the attention of a peace officer.

5. "Personal identifier information" shall mean any data or video representation that could: