Using dashcam in Europe - legal?

concerning dash cam use in Austria
if you say that you use the dash cam for filming the sunset, the use of the dash cam is legal.
if you use it like in Russia to prove your innocence in an accident it is not legal,
they are more concerned about filming other people and then posting that particular film
onto YouTube. That's a violation of privacy. It's typical for Austria, there are always back doors
to circumvent the law. Call it Privacy Laws gone nut's.
 
Thanks for the answer.
Got this a few weeks ago from the touristinformation.


The use of a Dashcam (car camera) is only allowed if you use the material exclusively for private purpose and don’t publish the material (putting it on Youtube, Facebook or anywhere else on the internet)
In case you are filming only the landscape and not other cars on the road, it would also be ok to publish the material.
However, as soon as it is possible to read the number plates of other cars on the road or to identify people, you are actually breaking the law if you publish the material, as you are violating the right to privacy of the other people involved.

As far as i see it is only a question if i publish a video. But if they now are missinformed, where can i get the right information?
 
As far as i see it is only a question if i publish a video. But if they now are misinformed, where can i get the right information?

You are correct, but at the same time wrong too.
The Law has been written in a very murky way.
Take a look following link:
https://www.dsb.gv.at/site/8105/default.aspx
if it can be proven that you use the dash-cam for surveillance of traffic, you are breaking the law.
The video cannot be published at all. It is only for your own personal consumption - lol
Should you be involved in an accident it is up to the judge if the video can be used to prove your innocence.
But you still broke the law as using a Dash-cam is not legal. Figure this one out lol
its all about how you use the words and having a top defense.
 
so in the end, If I'll make an euro-trip, where should I turn off my dashcam (except Luxembourg) ? Can I argue with the police officer in Austria that the dashcam is actually for my holiday video? :)))
 
As I'm about to take the car down to the Monaco/Italy border tomorrow, I thought I'd have a quick look to see if there were any updates regarding carcam usage in Belgium/Germany/Luxembourg/Switzerland & Italy.
Not that I'd taken any notice of existing laws the previous years, but as you get older you tend to get more rebellious.

As far as Switzerland is concerned, the following http://www.edoeb.admin.ch/datenschutz/00625/00729/01075/index.html?lang=en seems to spell it out quite clearly so felt it worth adding to this old thread.
 
As I'm about to take the car down to the Monaco/Italy border tomorrow, I thought I'd have a quick look to see if there were any updates regarding carcam usage in Belgium/Germany/Luxembourg/Switzerland & Italy.
Not that I'd taken any notice of existing laws the previous years, but as you get older you tend to get more rebellious.

As far as Switzerland is concerned, the following http://www.edoeb.admin.ch/datenschutz/00625/00729/01075/index.html?lang=en seems to spell it out quite clearly so felt it worth adding to this old thread.

Thanks for the up date.
This law makes videos on YT illegal too?
Just like this one, or this.
Plus there is the live web feeds from the country.
Yer I know I am ranting, but it seems this is another case of the law being written and not accepting the real world. I will not go on about the so called principles of transparency and proportionality that this information writes about. We are on the web and the web has no scruples in these areas.
 
Germany has similar law. where you're not allowed to post videos on YT that might disclose the owner for the car. Blur the license plates and it should be ok, although YT is full of people that don't bother.
Bavaria I've understood is a bit more anal about this.
An usually a judge will tend to throw away the dashcam video during a trial, although I'm sure that if you get to the point where you will address the European court of human rights (long process) it will be considered then.
Austria will rape you, but they will have no problem if you use your GoPro in the mountain highway to "document the drive and sights". There will be plenty of motorcyclist in the summer with GoPro attached and only fined for speeding :))
 
Thanks for the up date.
This law makes videos on YT illegal too?
Just like this one, or this.
Plus there is the live web feeds from the country.

The reference from above is quoting the position of the data protection officer, it is not law. His task is to raise awareness about sensitivity of data in use.

For the legal part:
As a basic principle around Europe, filming for private purpose is always permitted. Also in Austria.

See here a quick find from the Austrian highway operations company:
http://www.asfinag.at/newsroom/news.../content/dashcams-im-auto-–-was-ist-erlaubt-?
Google translate: https://translate.google.ch/translate?sl=de&tl=en&js=y&prev=_t&hl=de&ie=UTF-8&u=http://www.asfinag.at/newsroom/newsarchiv/-/asset_publisher/47582/content/dashcams-im-auto-–-was-ist-erlaubt-?
Also this is an interview from public TV with the Austrian data protection society who states it is not allowed to use such recorded material like for insurance claim. When publishing it to YouTube on a private basis, one would have to anonymize it.

The situation in Austria is a bit very special, as the data protection agency declared the use of DashCam to require to register it for operation. This is interpretation of law only, but the agency has a strong standing in the country. There has been one case only so far where this was asked and there has been no formal decision yet whether this claim is legitimate. Also it is questionable this claim would extend to private cars of foreigners traveling the country.

Beyond pure operation, in general, the challenge comes from when you are going to publish the material, like posting to YouTube.
This will start to be dependent to country law.

In some countries Germany and Switzerland we know the term "Panoramafreiheit". This grants you the right to use (e.g. publish) your work (e.g. recording) if an identifiable person or object is not put into the focus of attention but rather is a regular part of a broader aspect of the scenery.
One can read more detail on this at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_of_panorama (in German: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panoramafreiheit )
In any case, if someone would claim an infringement on his personal rights, the case would need not only be made up from the infringement itself but also from the damages created. For a plain road trippin' video, this will hardly ever be a relevant scenario to come to play therefore.

One very recent discussion is found here: http://autorevue.at/ratgeber/dashcam-oesterreich-verboten-oder-erlaubt
The ÖAMTC is the largest motorist association, like the AAA in the US. Their chief law representative states: if your video is taken just for private use one is not violating law even if other persons or vehicle license plates are recognizable. Only the publishing of such without blurring would be.
The article states DashCams to be fully legal in Bosnia, Denmark, France, UK, Italy, Malta, Netherlands (private use), Norway, Serbia and Spain. For Belgium, Germany, Luxemburg, Portugal, Sweden and Switzerland the data protection laws have to be observed before publishing.

The other thing is about the use of recorded material as evidence in court. This is totally up to country legislation. In Switzerland it is legal to bring this evidence, the judge still will decide if it is permitted. In Austria right now it is legal only if you were permitted by the data protection office to operate it.

I've had to clarify the issue once a few years back after publishing a book about some road trips. After consultation with my lawyer specialized in media law, the counter-party who was concerned about a visible license plate refused to take legal action.
 
I keep saying this but what the law says and what people do in reality are two different things.
Austria
or this link as an search youtube example.
 
What if you record the footage (you know, in case of emergency) and then post footage online AFTER you get back to your home country (or any other country than the one it was filmed in). Surely, Austria could not chase you if you filmed in Austria but uploaded to YouTube say, in the US? Since you are not breaking their law on their soil, they should have no powers to enforce anything? And no country would care about you posting footage filmed in another country. However, between EU countries, things could be different.
 
What if you record the footage (you know, in case of emergency) and then post footage online AFTER you get back to your home country (or any other country than the one it was filmed in).
Interesting twist. ;) With international disputes it's a decision of the court where the case will be settled and each party can ask to have it located either to one of the sides country or even the country the publishing service is located, depending on the terms of use for the service. But most likely the country is chosen where the infringement was performed (UK in your case). Welcome to the nightmare of international law. Nobody would file a case in this scenario. :)
 
I think I've written this in this thread before, but:
Using a dashcam in switzerland is also legal, but if you want to publish the material, you have to blur faces, license-plates and streetnames...
Info given out by the "Eidgenössische Datenschutzbeauftragter" (swiss data-safety officer)
 
It is still not explicitly forbidden.
But there are already a few things you are not allowed to do:
You are not allowed to
-publish your (uncensored) recordings
-Use it to record offenders like red light drivers, etc and go to the police with the footage afterwards

If you use the footage to proove that you are not guilty (in a lawsuit) the judge has to decide wether they accept your video footage or not
 
I have used dash cams in Germany, France, Belgium, Holland, UK and only place I had hassle was in Essen, West Germany after routine check as I was changing wheel following puncture, bit of luck as it happened right near D&W(Big car shop), I went into the Essen car show too, German ladies sure know how to dress nice at shows didn't see many cars but looked at plenty of ladies ha ha!!
 
I think in Austria isnt legal to have anything mounting on your winshield(dashcam,handsfree,navigation devices),if they are obstructing your view through the windshield.
 
In Austria you need a permit to mount anything on your windshield
 
In Austria you need a permit to mount anything on your windshield
I dont know,but asking for a permit is one and get permit is another thing.My opinion is that law is stupid,because you have to ask for someones permit to install or mount something in your car which is your personal property.

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I dont know,but asking for a permit is one and get permit is another thing.My opinion is that law is stupid,because you have to ask for someones permit to install or mount something in your car which is your personal property.

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I don't know how the permits are handled in Austria but my guess would be that you rather dont get a permit. When I was skiing in Austria Ive removed my dashcam to not get into trouble.
 
I think in Austria isnt legal to have anything mounting on your winshield(dashcam,handsfree,navigation devices),if they are obstructing your view through the windshield.

It is for this obstructing view that I placed my cam behind my mirror, none of it not a single part can be seen when sat normally in the drivers seat, otherwise in uk it should fail MOT(annual car test), I used the cable clips to fix the two wires to the mirror stalk which has a small casing around it, in line so not even that is seen by driver, but still easily accessed by feel or when stopped by cranking head downwards under mirror looking up.
 
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