A lawyer has warned BBC viewers about the risks of sharing footage on WhatsApp that is designed to help your neighbours. Lawyer Denise Nurse joined Kym Marsh and Gethin Jones on BBC’s Morning Live on Monday to delve into the little-known issues of WhatsApp group chats that could see you unintentionally interfere with police investigations.
As Gethin jokingly revealed Kym “must be in about a hundred” group chats because she’s just too polite to be the first one to leave, Denise admitted they have their benefits. From giving away unwanted goods to finding lost property and pets or even warning neighbours about crime, there are lots of reasons being in a group can be useful.
However, the last point she raised could get people in a whole lot of trouble “at the click of a button” if they’re sending video footage such as CCTV or Ring doorbell videos. Denise explained: “We need to get the balance right between our security and someone else’s privacy.”
The biggest problem could be when you’re only trying to help a neighbour in need, Denise warned. If there’s been a crime in the area, some people won’t think twice about sharing any potentially useful footage on their street group chats.
But this can have devastating consequences: “If there is a criminal investigation you could be interfering,” she said. “You could be sharing information that the police don’t want out there.”
The lawyer warned there’s also the risk of misinterpretation as your suspicions “could be wrong but yet someone’s identifiable” or it could even put your own safety at risk. She explained: “Perhaps, it is a criminal… and they’re on your WhatsApp group.”
Instead of sharing the footage on your group chats, Denise urged people to send it straight to the police and if your neighbour comes asking to see it, tell them to ask the police for it instead.
She said: “When you capture footage of someone and they haven’t consented to it and they’re identifiable in it, that will be their personal data. So if you start sharing things, you could be straying on the line.”
Denise explained that if your cameras are filming within your property or boundary lines, you should be fine. However if you’re filming communal areas like a street or a neighbour’s property, you may have images of people who “don’t expect to be captured on your camera” which can cause legal issues.
She noted that the ICO has guidelines to set up your cameras in line with GDPR and data protection laws. Separately, some other issues on the local WhatsApp groups include oversharing, identifying other people and being offensive.
For example, if your window lock has broken you may put up a post saying this and asking if anyone knows a good handyman. This could let potential criminals know a way into your home and may even invalidate your home insurance.
If you spot a bank card or children’s bus pass on the street, your first reaction may be to post it in the group chat. This could identify them to potential criminals or give fraudsters all the information they need to take advantage of the lost items.
Overall, Denise advised: “My top tip here on all forms of communication is don’t say anything you wouldn’t be prepared to say in a court of law being used as evidence. If it’s read out in the cold light of day, how’s it going to feel? If you say something abusive, discriminatory, threatening.”
She also revealed that if you receive certain texts like this it could be malicious communication or harassment depending on how often it has happened. She concluded: “You do have recourse in the law if you receive something like that.”