Road camera broadcasts view of E39 toilet queue

Dagbladet reports that a Norwegian Public Roads Administration camera at a rest stop along the E39 is showing more than road conditions, including the queue outside the toilets.

The administration publishes live images from several hundred cameras across Norway. They are placed at weather-exposed locations, ferry terminals, mountain passes and roads with heavy traffic to help motorists check conditions before driving.

Trønder-Avisa recently revealed that the camera at the E39 rest stop also provides a view of the toilet queue. When Dagbladet checked the camera on Sunday morning, it was still operating. Although the image is blurred, people could potentially be seen if a queue formed outside the toilets.

IT expert Torgeir Waterhouse of consultancy Otte said strict requirements must govern how information from the cameras is handled.

“The information can only be used for the purpose for which it is intended,” Waterhouse said, adding that the Public Roads Administration is responsible for preventing misuse of the images.

He said the requirements include what is filmed, how the material is used and how long it is stored. Waterhouse added that it must be assumed the administration complies with the rules that allow it to operate the camera, while acknowledging that unauthorised access to such information will always be a challenge.

In an email first sent to Trønder-Avisa, Bjørn Roar Eriksen, head of section in the Public Roads Administration’s Department of Road and Transport Technology, said webcams have a clear traffic-related purpose. This includes traffic information, traffic management, emergency preparedness and information about road, weather and driving conditions.

Eriksen did not specifically explain why the camera is positioned this way. Trønder-Avisa reported that an email it obtained said the positioning was linked to repeated vandalism.

Eriksen said the cameras should be positioned and adjusted so individuals and registration numbers cannot be identified. This is achieved through the camera angle, distance, image framing and resolution, while identifying information must be blurred if those measures are insufficient.

If an image makes a person directly or indirectly identifiable, data protection rules apply. Processing must be necessary for the stated purpose, and personal information that is not necessary must be anonymised or deleted as quickly as possible.