The French Data Protection Authority publishes recommendations on the implementation of AI equipped cameras in freight transport vehicles

Some employers of transportation companies implement AI equipped cameras in the vehicles used by their employees. The aim of these is often related to security, as such cameras can detect the driver's tiredness or inattention. 

The French Data Protection Authority (the CNIL) published recommendations regarding the use of such cameras, as they present a risk for the privacy rights of drivers, by allowing employers to have access to video recordings of their faces. 

Those cameras are not generally prohibited, but the violation of the employee's privacy rights must be justified and proportionate. The use of cameras cannot result in the continuous surveillance of the drivers. The implementation of such cameras need to pursue a legitimate objective, like the security of the drivers and third parties or the evaluation of drivers. 

According to the CNIL, the legal basis for such process of personal data can only be the legitimate interest (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR). Therefore, the employer need to ensure the process of personal data is necessary and that privacy rights of the data subjects are not overridden by his legitimate interest. The CNIL gives different examples of measures that can be implemented by the employer to comply with these requirements,  like only keeping data for drives where there is a high risk of accidents.