The Riigikogu discussed problems relating to number recognition cameras

Prime Minister Kristen Michal replied to the interpellation concerning the automatic number plate recognition camera network and the related database (No. 756), submitted by Members of the Riigikogu Martin Helme, Varro Vooglaid, Rene Kokk, Anti Poolamets, Evelin Poolamets, Mart Helme and Rain Epler.

The interpellators wanted to know by whose decision and on whose order such a system had been established. They also asked whether there were any other massive systems for collecting information about citizens.

Prime Minister explained that a regulation of the Minister of the Interior of 13 November 2009 had established the statutes on the maintenance of the police database, or the database ‘Information System POLIS’, which for the first time regulated the issues relating to cameras. The regulation had been established on the basis of the Police and Border Guard Act. The draft regulation was prepared by the Ministry of the Interior in 2009. This regulation has been amended 17 times by several Ministers of the Interior over time. This regulation can be found in the Riigi Teataja database and is available to everyone.

“It is also true that the perception of the protection of data has changed over time. At that time, there was probably a great desire for security in society, to stop all kinds of car thieves, other thieves,” Michal said. He explained that the statutes on the maintenance of the database ‘Information System POLIS’ were a regulation of the Minister of the Interior, not a government legal act.

Michal noted that, according to the review of by the Director General of the Police and Border Guard Board, the technology of the number plate recognition cameras used in the system worked by detecting the vehicle’s number plate and taking a photo of it. Depending on the camera, the vehicle, and circumstances, people in the vehicle may also be captured in the photo but they are generally not identifiable due to the external environment, weather, or daylight, because the camera focuses on the registration plate. “The photos taken by number plate recognition cameras are not personalised and are not automatically linked to the owner or user of the car. This means that the police will only link a person with a vehicle if a specific case is being investigated or a crime is being solved. Data processing has been purposeful, data is stored for a short period of time, and internal mechanisms for data deletion are in place,” Prime Minister saif.

Michal explained that the Police and Border Guard Board’s internal audit of the use of number plate recognition cameras had confirmed that the Police and Border Guard Board had used the data for its intended purpose, and the possibility of follow-up checks, and timely deletion of the data were guaranteed. The inspection has established that the Police and Border Guard Board has observed the Police and Border Guard Act, the Law Enforcement Act, and the POLIS statutes approved by the Minister of the Interior when using automatic number plate recognition. The conformity of the practice with legal principles has also been confirmed by case law, which has not questioned the legality of the use of number plate recognition cameras or the use of the data they collect as evidence.

Prime Minister stated that there was no consensus among legal experts on the existence of a legal basis. Minister of the Interior Igor Taro has suspended the further use of number plate recognition cameras by the Police and Border Guard Board by a decision of 14 May this year, pending legal clarity. The Legal Affairs Committee of the Riigikogu discussed the issue at its session on 3 June and found that the Ministry of the Interior was to present more precise regulations on the use of number plate recognition cameras. As of today, the relevant bill has been initiated in the Riigikogu, and as far as I know, the first reading should take place as early as next week. The committee has promised to thoroughly process the bill and to hear the positions of both the Office of the Chancellor of Justice and the Data Protection Inspectorate. “I believe that this debate is thorough and will continue in the Riigikogu in the autumn,” Michal noted.

The Prime Minister said that, according to the information received from the Ministry of the Interior, no covert data collection systems collecting personal data on a massive scale had been established or were under construction in Estonia. “All existing information systems are regulated by legislation and their use is based on the principles of proportionality, purposefulness and transparency,” the Prime Minister confirmed. “All existing data systems, including the POLIS information system, are used only by those officials who need it due to their official duties,” Michal noted.

Prime Minister also replied to interpellations concerning the spread of poverty in Estonia (No. 757), the decrease of population (No. 758) and the economic sustainability of wind energy and international experience in shaping Estonia’s energy policy (No. 763) submitted by members of the Riigikogu.  

Minister of Defence Hanno Pevkur replied to interpellations concerning the impact of the wind turbine industry on Estonia’s defence capability and security(No. 747) and the problems with the Defence Forces cemetery (No. 752). Minister of Social Affairs Karmen Joller replied to the interpellations concerning the severance pay paid to an adviser (No. 753) and the sustainability and accessibility of the healthcare system (No. 759).

A Bill passed the first reading

The Bill on the Termination of the Convention between the Republic of Estonia and the Republic of Belarus for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to Taxes on Income (666 SE), initiated by the Government, will terminate the Convention with Belarus for the avoidance of double taxation and the prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on Income which has been in force since 1998. The aim of the convention is to encourage investments between the two countries, but Belarus has unilaterally violated the convention by partially suspending the application of the convention to Estonian residents.

Lauri Laats and Anastassia Kovalenko-Kõlvart took the floor during the open microphone.

The sitting ended at 9.40 p.m.

Verbatim record of the sitting (in Estonian)

Video recordings of the sittings of the Riigikogu can be viewed at https://www.youtube.com/riigikogu.
(Please note that the recording will be uploaded with a delay.)

Riigikogu Press Service
Gunnar Paal,
+372 631 6351, +372 5190 2837
gunnar.paal@riigikogu.ee
Questions: press@riigikogu.ee

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Source: Parliament of Estonia