The Cologne-based initiative ‘Kameras Stoppen’ campaigns against police video surveillance in public spaces in Cologne. Since 2016, the Cologne police have been drastically expanding their fixed-camera surveillance system in central squares and streets. ‘Kameras Stoppen’ aims to put a stop to this surveillance and prevent planned expansions, combining legal action with public awareness campaigns, such as guided walks through the areas under surveillance.
The legal actions and urgent proceedings it has supported have led to several court rulings:
- In seven judgements handed down on 28 November 2024, the Cologne Administrative Court ruled that the police must cease video surveillance on 44 sections of road and public spaces, as these do not constitute crime hotspots.
- In 2020, the claimants succeeded in securing a ruling that the police must physically cover their cameras during public gatherings.
- In 2022, the Higher Administrative Court of North Rhine-Westphalia (OVG NRW) prohibited video surveillance throughout the entire monitored area one hour before the start, during, and half an hour after the end of a public gathering.
- Windows, building entrances and ground-floor catering establishments must be obscured in the camera footage.
- The list of offences that may be used as ‘street crime’ to justify surveillance has been significantly reduced by the Higher Administrative Court of North Rhine-Westphalia.
- These proceedings brought to light massive data protection shortcomings within the Cologne Police: a lack of a data protection impact assessment, the absence of a data deletion policy, and the premature deletion of log data in contravention of legal obligations.
Classification as Best Practice#
‘Kameras Stoppen’ demonstrates how citizens can effectively defend themselves against state surveillance. Without their legal pursuits, the Cologne police would still be monitoring assemblies and filming into private premises today.
The legal issues raised are not limited to Cologne. The proportionality of mass surveillance without cause, the protection of freedom of assembly and the data protection requirements for video surveillance are issues faced by many European cities. The Cologne rulings can therefore serve as a basis for argument elsewhere.
Image by Comuzi / Surveillance View A. / © BBC / CC-BY 4.0