Antwerp (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – The City of Antwerp was reprimanded by the Belgian Data Protection Authority (GBA) and ordered to delete voice recordings from a noise reduction project due to privacy violations. Chairman Hielke Himans emphasized the project’s failure to respect residents’ privacy
A resident believed the sound meter project violated his privacy. He took legal action and filed a complaint with the Dispute Resolution Chamber of the Belgian Data Protection Authority (GBA). He claimed the system recorded voices and sounds, which went beyond just measuring noise levels. This invaded the privacy of residents and passersby.
After reviewing the case, the Chamber agreed with him. They said the project did not respect people’s privacy rights. They mentioned that the ruling showed that the city did not follow data protection laws and lacked proper measures to prevent unauthorized recording of personal conversations.
“The project did not take into account the privacy of the residents and those who were in the neighbourhood,”
Says Hielke Himans, the chairman of the Dispute Chamber.
“That is why we have formulated a reprimand for the city. In addition, we have ordered that voice recordings that still exist must be deleted.”
What led to the shutdown of Antwerp’s sound meter project?
After the decision, Hielke Himans, the chairman of the Dispute Resolution Chamber, said the project did not respect the privacy of residents. The Chamber gave the city an official warning about how it managed the project. Antwerp was also ordered to delete any remaining voice recordings from the project. To ensure the city follows this order, the Chamber will monitor their actions.
In 2022, Antwerp started a test project to reduce noise in the student area. They installed sound meters in different places to check noise levels. If the noise was too loud, a message would appear on a screen telling people to be quieter.
According to officials, this project aimed to help residents who complained about noise at night. The city said the system would not record conversations, only overall noise levels. However, it later turned out that people’s voices were being recorded, and privacy law concerns were brought up.
The Belgian Data Protection Authority (GBA) realized the matter and opened an inquiry into the system. By the end of 2022, the GBA decided that the project had serious privacy risks and told the city to stop it. They were concerned that recording voices could collect personal data without permission.
They said the decision highlighted the value of keeping information private in open spaces and that there was a lack of clarity regarding the uses of the information. The city was forced to shut off the sound meters due to this, ending the project prematurely.
