EKRE MP demands release of license plate recognition images of him driving
Riigikogu MP Varro Vooglaid (EKRE) says despite repeated requests, the Police and Border Guard Board (PPA) have not sent him license plate camera photos of him driving his car, in which he said his face is not obscured.
The PPA has close to 100 photos of the MP driving, and denies that Vooglaid could be facially identified from the images.
Vooglaid said he sent his fourth request to the PPA last Saturday, saying as of Tuesday, nothing had changed and the PPA are "still dragging it out, responding with long delays, and when they do respond, there's no substantive answer. In my opinion, the PPA has not acted in good faith or with integrity in this matter."
There is an expiry date on all the correspondence, the MP added, saying he wants to exhaust all other options before turning to the Data Protection Inspectorate (AKI) or the courts.
"Of course, one can always turn to the courts to protect my rights, but I think it's simply absurd that one should have to resort to such methods when dealing with the PPA. Civilized people ought to be able to communicate in good faith and constructively, after all," he continued.
In one of its responses to Vooglaid, the PPA stated that timestamps and other metadata had been removed from images in order to avoid situations where, together with other indicators, third parties could be identifiable. Additionally, it is not possible to conclusively identify the driver of the vehicle from the submitted image material, hence the frames not being released, the response states.
PPA: Authority follows AKI guidelines
Priit Põdra, head of the PPA's information security division, told ERR that the authority blurs people in photos taken by license plate recognition cameras when releasing them, in line with the general principles of data protection and the AKI's guidelines on camera use, which stipulate that third parties must be rendered unidentifiable in recordings.
Third parties could include other people who may be permitted to use a vehicle, but are not the owner, the response went on.
"A car may have several users besides the owner, such as family members, employees, or renters under contract. This means that data captured by license plate recognition cameras about a vehicle may actually concern other people and their locations or movements. For this reason, the PPA does not provide the car owner unblurred images with personal details and metadata," Põdra went on.
Vooglaid: I am the only person who drives my car
While Vooglaid has asserted that he is the only person to have driven his car, Põdra said the PPA still will not release a photo even if the owner claims to be the sole user.
"First, it is not always viable to verify the driver's identity from a photo, as license plate recognition is not designed to identify people inside vehicles — its focus is the car's registration number. Second, to compare the photo of the driver, the PPA would have to make additional queries in its information systems to verify identity, and extra data processing like this is unjustified. The PPA follows the principle of data minimization when processing personal data," Põdra went on.
Vooglaid is not alone in approaching the PPA on the issue, following the debate over the legality of using license plate recognition cameras that emerged in the spring. Põdra said nearly 50 people have contacted the PPA seeking to obtain the images captured of their vehicles in recent months.
Vooglaid stated on social media last week that the PPA had continued to decline to release images taken of his car by license plate cameras, without the driver being obscured.
"This is justified by the claim that this protects the driver's personal data. But this explanation is knowingly deceptive, as I have repeatedly explained to the PPA that during the entire period the images were taken, no one else drove my car besides me, and it is absurd to claim that my personal data needs to be protected from myself," Vooglaid wrote.
MP: Clear PPA were misleading about data captured
PPA Deputy Director General Kristi Mäe had stated before a Riigikogu committee that the cameras are configured so that individuals in the car are generally not identifiable. Vooglaid says he wants to verify this claim, adding that in his view, the PPA's actions have so far only confirmed his view that in actuality, individuals sitting in the car may in fact be identifiable from the photos.
"I think it's actually pretty clear why they won't give me the photos — they don't because it would very likely reveal that they've simply lied to members of parliament in the Riigikogu about what information can or cannot be collected through their camera system," Vooglaid said. "If the individuals in the car are not identifiable, then why have the photos given to me been obscured with boxes over the individuals in the car?" he added.
A total of 97 unprocessed photos of Vooglaid's car have been taken by the PPA.
Vooglaid said he is also considering going to court, noting "if the PPA continues to be obstinate and act unlawfully, then I see no reason why I shouldn't also use other available means to achieve my goal," said Vooglaid.
If it turns out that the PPA had been misleading about the identifiability of people in the photos, then the responsible individuals should resign, Vooglaid believes.
"In my view, it should be basic that if officials lie before parliament and the public about what information is being mass-collected on people, then the absolute minimum is that they must resign from their positions," he added.
Vooglaid says he plans to continue the process until clarity on what data has been collected and whether it is in line with what the PPA has stated to the public. "That is my goal — I have no other goal," he said.
The PPA also noted in one of its responses to Vooglaid that he has the option to file a complaint with the AKI or take the matter to court in order to protect his rights.
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Editor: Marko Tooming Andrew Whyte
