This case originated outside of a webform submission and does not have a summary
Request ID: FOI-2222-2324 Date published: 05 October 2023
You asked
Dear Sir or Madam,
I am requesting the following information under the Freedom of Information Act.
Please can you provide, in video format, a copy of recordings made from 15:00 to 16:00 (BST) on Wednesday 10th May, 2023, from the following traffic camera operated by TFL:
- Warwick Rd/W Cromwell Rd
If you can provide the video in electronic format (i.e MP4 file) with a download link that would be much prefered.
Please let me know if I can assist with clarifying or refining my request and I will be happy to do so.
We answered
TfL Ref: FOI-2222-2324
Thank you for your request received by Transport for London (TfL) on 23 September 2023 asking CCTV recordings in video format from a traffic camera operated by TfL.
I can confirm that we hold some of the information you require. However, the information is being withheld under section 14(1) of the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act. This exemption applies where a request, or its impact on a public authority, cannot be justified. In this instance the exemption applies because of the impact complying with the request would have on in TfL, in regard to the length of time that would have to be spent reviewing and redacting the footage to make it suitable for publication.
Section 40(2) of the FOI Act requires information that would allow a third party to be unfairly identified to be withheld from release. In the case of CCTV footage, guidance from the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO - https://ico.org.uk/media/1542/cctv-code-of-practice.pdfsee section 5.2.4) states that “…if individuals are capable of being identified from the relevant surveillance system, then it is personal information about the individual concerned. It is generally unlikely that this information can be disclosed in response to a freedom of information request as the requester could potentially use the information for any purpose and the individual concerned is unlikely to expect this. This may be unfair processing in contravention of the DPA” (Data Protection Act). This establishes that images of passengers captured on CCTV constitutes their personal data. The question of release is therefore a question of fairness to those individuals.
Under the FOI Act, the release of information is considered to be to the world at large rather than to the individual applicant. TfL believes that it would be unfair on any individuals captured on our CCTV footage to have that footage then released into the public domain. These people may not have realised they were being captured on CCTV at that precise moment in time, and may not expect nor want such information - which would tie them to a specific place at a specific time - to be made public.
Given this, if we were to comply with your request we would have to redact the footage to ensure that no third parties caught on film could be identified. This is not a quick process. The footage you have requested is for five hours of data. It is not possible to estimate how long the redaction process would take, but we are confident that the process of doing so would be so extensive that it can be considered to take considerable time and resources to complete. This judgment has been steered by the ICO guidance on the use of section 14, which can be found online here:
As you can see, the guidance includes the following advice to public authorities:
“….the key question to ask is whether the request is likely to cause a disproportionate or unjustified level of disruption…this will usually be a matter of objectively judging the evidence of the impact on the authority and weighing this against any evidence about the purpose and value of the request”;
“The Information Commissioner recognises that dealing with unreasonable requests can place a strain on resources and get in the way of delivering mainstream services or answering legitimate requests”;
“….public authorities should not regard section 14(1) as something which is only to be applied in the most extreme circumstances, or as a last resort. Rather, we would encourage authorities to consider its use in any case where they believe the request is disproportionate or unjustified”.
The guidance also provides a number of specific indicators to take into account when judging whether or not the exemption should apply. This includes the following:
“Burden on the authority: The effort required to meet the request will be so grossly oppressive in terms of the strain on time and resources, that the authority cannot reasonably be expected to comply, no matter how legitimate the subject matter or valid then intentions of the requester”;
TfL’s principal duty is to provide an effective transport service for London and we consider that answering requests of this nature would represent a disproportionate effort, requiring re-allocation of already limited resources and placing an unacceptable burden on a small number of personnel. We therefore believe that it is reasonable for section 14(1) to apply and for your request to be refused on that basis.
Please see the attached information sheet for details of your right to appeal.
Yours sincerely
Graham Hurt FOI Case Officer FOI Case Management Team General Counsel Transport for London
