Control using drones at the border line and established sanitary fences, as in Ovar, or to be established, was authorized by the National Data Protection Commission (CNPD).
The decision of the CNPD, taken on Thursday and published on its website, says that the capture of images must, however, safeguard the privacy "of those who are in their homes."
The commission also recommends guaranteeing the right of access to recorded images, as required by law, and recalls that restrictions on fundamental rights (such as the right to privacy) "should be limited to what is strictly necessary for the intended purposes" with the use of this video surveillance system.
The CNPD, in its opinion signed by President Filipa Calvão, also reveals that it was the GNR to request authorization from the Ministry of Internal Administration (MAI) to use drones to control whether the rules for containing the movement of people are in place as a measure to contain the epidemic. of the new coronavirus.
"The authorization request [from the GNR to the MAI] refers to the use, during a state of emergency, of 14 video cameras supported by RPAS [Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems]", the opinion reads.
The document also states that the 14 chambers will be used "on the border line between authorized crossing points at land borders and between river/sea crossing points, duly identified, as well as in sanitary fences established or to be established, during the state of emergency".
He also says that the cameras will only capture images, not sound, «which will be viewed by the aircraft operator in the hardware equipment and are transmitted in real time to the National Integrated Center for Operational Management of the GNR Operational Command in Lisbon, where they are also displayed».
In the opinion, the CNPD reminds that the law defines that the use of drones can only occur in some situations, such as to guarantee the safety of people and goods, and the prevention of crimes, in places where there is a reasonable probability of their occurrence.
"However, this application for the use of portable video cameras has the specificity of being coupled or integrated in RPAS - in Unmanned Air Vehicles - enhancing the impact of such use on people's private lives and their freedom of movement" , states in the opinion.
The commission also recalls that the position it has defended on the use of these cameras, based on a balance between the interests of video surveillance and the restriction of people's rights, but recognizes that the state of emergency, such as the one the country is going through, is a foundation for its use.
"The partial suspension of the freedom of movement and settlement in the national territory, as well as the authorization for the reposition of borders thus decreed, allows the adoption of adequate, necessary and proportional police measures to prevent and combat the epidemic in constitutionally framed terms, serving to legitimize the use of chambers by resorting to RPAS insofar as it proves to be adequate, necessary and not excessive for those purposes", he warns in the opinion.
Finally, the CNPD also warns the MAI that the request for an opinion to the committee "is silent on the guarantee of the rights of access and deletion of data subjects", recommending that this right of access be guaranteed, "even if it may be conditioned based on specific circumstances'.
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