CCTV cameras must be installed to “serve specific and legitimate purposes, in moderation, and must not become big brother”, data protection commissioner Irini Loizidou Nicolaidou said on Monday.

She refuted reported claims that her office is “standing in the way of the installation of cameras”, and said that when such matters are put up for consultation, her office “examines each case separately, based on its particular circumstances”.

“Municipalities may operate cameras in public spaces, where necessity and proportionality are presumed and after consultation with the commissioner,” she said, before offering examples of when her office has acquiesced to the installation of CCTV systems.

“Even before the general data protection regulation [GDPR] came into force, I agreed to the placement of cameras in Ayia Napa because a study carried out by the police documented that serious criminal offences were committed in the areas in question every year,” she began.

She added that a more recent local law has empowered municipalities to place cameras in certain areas “under certain conditions”, and that based on that law, she had informed the Paphos municipality that it was entitled to operate cameras at the town’s Colours Park during evening hours.

This, she said, came about after “other alternative measures” the municipality had taken with the aim of preventing antisocial behaviour in the park “did not work”.

She also said the Nicosia municipality had submitted to her office a multi-page impact assessment regarding the placement of multiple cameras across various parts of the city and the operation of “various applications” with the intention of making Nicosia a “smart city”.

“Some applications involve the processing of personal data, others do not. The impact assessment is being studied and I will respond to the municipality in due course,” she said.

Meanwhile, she said, a question was submitted to her office by the Limassol municipality regarding the potential placement of cameras in three areas where incidents of vandalism had occurred within the city.

“I was positive about two of the areas and gave guidance for the impact assessment that the municipality must prepare and submit to my office for consultation. However, I expressed reservations about the installation of cameras in Ayia Fylaxi square, which is surrounded by houses and catering and entertainment centres,” she said.

She also said she had “raised various questions” with the Paphos municipality over a suggestion that cameras be installed on “smart bollards” which the municipality had planned to install with the town.

On this matter, an impact assessment should have been installed by March 31, but no such assessment has yet been submitted.