I accidentally drove the wrong way down a one-way street. Nothing happened and I was not stopped, but I saw that there are municipal cameras attached to the streetlight at an intersection. I recently got my driver’s license and have already lost some points, now I am afraid of receiving a fine and losing my license. But can those images be used?
D.C.
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The issue was recently addressed by the Data Protection Authority with provision no. 341 of May 14, 2026. The case involved a woman involved in a road accident. The Municipality had acquired images recorded by a camera installed on the public road as part of a system intended to protect urban security. From viewing the footage, the Local Police reconstructed the dynamics of the accident and charged the driver with a violation of the Highway Code for failing to yield to a pedestrian. The footage was also transmitted to the Motor Vehicle Department as part of a procedure concerning the driving license. The driver then turned to the Privacy Authority, contesting the use of the images for purposes other than those for which they were originally collected. The Authority sided with her.
The key point is that the presence of a camera on the public road does not mean that the images collected can be used indiscriminately for any purpose.
Personal data must in fact be collected for specific and legitimate purposes and cannot subsequently be used for purposes incompatible with the original ones, unless there is a specific legal basis allowing it. In the case examined, the cameras had been installed for urban security purposes and, in particular, for the prevention and contrast of criminal phenomena.
According to the Authority, it was therefore not possible to subsequently use those same images for a merely administrative purpose, such as verifying a violation of the Highway Code, in the absence of a specific legal provision. Essentially, a camera installed to monitor the territory and prevent criminal phenomena does not automatically become a tool also usable to ascertain any traffic violation.
The Authority also specified that the Highway Code specifically identifies cases in which violations can be ascertained remotely by devices or equipment. However, there is no general provision allowing Municipalities to use recordings from cameras installed for urban security to subsequently ascertain violations committed on city streets.
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The situation is different if the accident reveals facts that are criminally relevant. In the presence, for example, of a road homicide, serious or very serious road injuries, or other crimes, the images can be acquired and used by the Judicial Police as part of investigations and criminal proceedings.
In the case examined by the Authority, however, the person involved in the accident had injuries with a prognosis of ten days and the Municipality had not demonstrated the existence of actual judicial police activity justifying the use of the images for that purpose.
The Authority therefore declared the processing of personal data carried out by the Municipality unlawful, considering violated, among others, the principles of lawfulness and purpose limitation, and warned the municipal administration.
Legal help desk service: Il Tirreno relies on the competent and qualified collaboration of the law firm Depresbìteris-Scura. The professionals of this firm answer weekly the questions sent to sportellolegale@iltirreno.it.
