By Annisa Essack
28:09:2021

“Big brother is watching” is a term we bandy about. Still, it is becoming a reality in South Africa as surveillance company VUMACAM gears up to connect its surveillance network to cameras in private estates and shopping centres. Although VUMACAM says it prioritises privacy, it has lied repeatedly to the public — and the high court — about its surveillance system’s compliance with privacy regulations.

Heidi Swart, a journalist who reports on surveillance and data privacy, discussed the workings of VUMACAM and how it will affect South Africans.

According to Swart, VUMACAM specialises in video added services to make their video surveillance network available to private security companies. These companies pay a fee per camera to view footage shared with the company monitoring room. VUMACAM has over 5000 cameras in Gauteng and plans to link cameras within shopping malls, security estates, etc., to their surveillance system to increase their business platform.

Swart says that South Africa has high crime rates. Surveillance could be what citizens feel will be helpful in the fight against the scourge. Still, she warned that the concern is not knowing what the companies who record and store the footage would be doing with it.

Although the POPI Act protects businesses and individuals data, another concern is how the law is interpreted. The Information Regulator could say that since safety takes precedent over privacy, the use of these cameras and the collection and storage of data is justified.

The software that VUMACAM uses, called Milestone Video Management Systems, which Swart says is powerful. It can track people using facial, light and face recognition and analytics. The system is yet activated to allow VUMACAM to track using these high-tech functions, but it can evolve to that.

With the big appetite by private companies, government and individuals, surveillance, and analytics, to work for them and these systems can be built. Swart says there is a vast difference between a camera seeing you walk by compared to a person who sees you do so.

For those citizens who object to being watched, the laws are still being thrashed out in court. They include the POPI Act, which means that the public must familiarise themselves with the law. Importantly, people need to be aware of how important privacy is to safety.

Ransomware and hacking attacks have become more frequent. People need to realise that it is vital to keep themselves and their information private and safe.

She added that the more people complaining to the Information Regulator on this issue will ensure a more significant impact and that the public has a louder voice in shaping and implementing the law.

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