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Speak Up! - View Question #295 |
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Question: Is it legal to put security cameras in dressing rooms?
Answer: The question of security in dressing rooms has been a sticky one for some time. For the most part, the law seeks to ensure that stores are protected by allowing them some security over their merchandise, but without intruding on the privacy of their customers. It is in fact legal for stores to monitor dressing rooms, but they must do so in a way that does not invade your personal rights.
Normally in order to be legal, a store must do the following:
1) use same-sex personnel to monitor their customers (women monitor the women's dressing rooms and men monitor men's dressing rooms); and,
2) the security systems need to be 'tapeless', meaning that the person watching through the camera can see what's going on, but can not keep a tape of what they're viewing.
This tends to strike a fairly good balance between protection of merchandise and protecting your privacy.
While there did seem to be a trend toward camera-based monitoring a few years ago, this has seemed to have slowed. With the advent of security devices on the clothes themselves, stores have been less inclined to look into dressing rooms.
If you're ever concerned about how you are being monitored, ask a store employee to tell you who is monitoring the camera and whether they are keeping tapes. If the store won't disclose its methods, or they seem to be monitoring in a manner that you are uncomfortable with, take your money somewhere else. Losing your business often speaks louder than words.
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