Michael Webster: Privacy Commissioner reveals retailers' use of shoplifters' images may breach privacy law

The Privacy Commissioner has issued a warning for retailers who aim to publicly shame shoplifters.

The Commissioner says businesses posting CCTV footage and images of crimes on social media causes 'real harm' - and doing so breaks privacy laws.

Michael Webster says many of these images are posted to shame the perpetrators as opposed to sharing information - which breaches the Privacy Act. 

LISTEN ABOVE

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
I've got a warning for retailers that want to publicly

(00:02):
shame apparent shoplifter's emphasis on a parent The Privacy Commissioner
says business is posting CCTV video and images of a
crime on social media can cause real harm and potentially
potentially be breaking the law. So the message is simple
from them, report it to police. Leave it at that. Basically,
Michael Webster's the Privacy Commission with me tonight.

Speaker 2 (00:22):
Hi Michael, but leave me Ryan?

Speaker 1 (00:25):
Is it illegal to post videos from CCTV from your
shop onto the internet.

Speaker 2 (00:31):
So what we have at play here is two scenarios
and it's important not to confuse them. In general terms,
retailers can share information between themselves privately, particularly if they
have cctvoodage of people committing crimes, say in a mall situation,
or there people who is in their shot. Second, is

(00:52):
these public walls of shame or public public online posts
on Facebook, and those might be intended to for example,
humiliar of cause embarrassment. They're not shared for the main
purpose of all the other retailers and therefore they could
actually be in breach of the Privacy Act.

Speaker 1 (01:08):
What does that mean? What is the potential punishment.

Speaker 2 (01:12):
Well, the potential punishment is that someone could complain were
but cases for example, where people have had their pictures
posted they only came in to a shop with a
group of friends, one of the friends stole something. They
didn't steal something, but they had their picture posted up
on one of these public walls of shame. They suffered
emotional trauma from that, They were shunned by their small

(01:35):
community they lived in and actually in the end they
got a formal apology and some financial compensation from the store.
Add issue there.

Speaker 1 (01:43):
Right, if you get it right, is there anything wrong
with it? I mean, if you identify the right person
and they were the thief, then it's all fine.

Speaker 2 (01:51):
If you get it right. If you know that you've
caught someone stealing, for example, through your CCTV, what you
should do is share that between privately, between the retailers
and the store, between yourself and your start, say with
more security, if you're part of the more and that's
an appropriate way to use that information.

Speaker 1 (02:10):
Do you have sympathy for the business instead of doing this.

Speaker 2 (02:14):
I absolutely have sympathy for those in the retail game.
At the moment. Retail crime is a serious issue and
I've been engaging with retailers about the issues that they
face and the publication and sharing the information about alleged
defenders is an issue for them, and so we just
wanted to help them with some guidance in the space
to do the right.

Speaker 1 (02:34):
Thing, all right, Michael, appreciate you coming on the show.
Michael Webster, Privacy Commissioner on CCTV and What Not to
Do with It. For more from Hither Duplessy, Allen Drive,
listen live to news talks it'd be from four pm weekdays,
or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.