Green light for road cameras
Following a decision by Greece’s privacy watchdog yesterday to allow the use of roadside CCTV cameras, the police is preparing to switch back on most of the electronic eyes used in the Olympics. The Authority for the Protection of Personal Data (APPD) had banned the use of the cameras following the completion of the August Games, but Public Order Minister Giorgos Voulgarakis wrote to the body a few weeks ago, asking it to reverse its decision. He guaranteed that the software controlling the roadside cameras would be prevented from collecting personal data on citizens. The police is looking to link 293 of the 340 Athens cameras to its traffic control center. The move is seen as a vital part of the 12-point transport plan presented by the government last month, designed to keep the capital moving. Meanwhile, 10 speed cameras are to be placed at accident black spots along the Maliakos Gulf section of the Athens-Thessaloniki highway at a cost of 330,000 euros, the Public Works Ministry said. Seven teenage students were killed in school bus crash on September 27 along this stretch of road.
