Intent determines legality of surveillance camera

I live in a condo, and my neighbor’s front door directly faces mine. He has installed a video surveillance system on his door, and it records every time I open the door. I have asked him to take it down because it makes me extremely uncomfortable. He refused. I feel a loss of privacy, and I feel violated. Is this legal?

For better or worse, being recorded is now a fact of life. Our society and legal system have been playing catch-up to regulate the use of cameras and punish people who abuse the technology.

Unless he is misusing the video, such as posting it on the internet, there is probably not much that can be done.

Property owners have the right to place cameras in and around their home for security reasons. The camera should either be easily noticeable, or there should be a sign warning visitors that they are being recorded. The camera should not be used to record neighbors or anyone where they have a reasonable expectation of privacy, such as in their house, a public restroom, changing room or any place where people would expect no one is looking at them without their permission or knowledge.

If someone does record you without your knowledge and permission when you are somewhere that should be private, the law will look at the intent with which you were recorded. If your neighbor’s door camera is for security and positioned so it just happened to see inside your home as you entered and left (a time when you would not expect privacy), it would be OK. But if your neighbor was setting up the cameras to be a high-tech Peeping Tom, he may be committing a crime.