Laws raise questions Company uses automatic parking offender system - illegal for police

More and more companies are using automatic license plate recognition to catch parking offenders. The police are not allowed to use similar systems. This raises questions.

For years, commuters parked for free in an area next to the Döttingen AG train station, which regularly led to a lack of parking spaces for customers of the Denner supermarket, fitness center and health center. This is now a thing of the past. As reported by the "Aargauer Zeitung", the owner of the site, Solarpuls Immo AG, has installed a new monitoring system with automatic license plate recognition.

The new system registers the entry and exit of vehicles with cameras. The first 45 minutes of parking are free, after which there is a charge: one franc for the next quarter of an hour and for each additional hour or part thereof. Customers of the fitness center can register their car number in the system to park for free for up to two and a half hours. Anyone who does not pay the parking fee must expect to pay an administrative fee of 60 francs.

Data protection advocate sees proportionality

The use of such cameras by private individuals raises questions. Similar surveillance systems used by Aargau police forces had to be shut down in 2022 following a court ruling. In contrast to the police, who issue administrative fines for violations, private operators are allowed to levy fines if appropriate notices are displayed on signs.

Solarpuls writes to the "Aargauer Zeitung" that the reading of the control sign complies with data protection regulations. It is technically ensured that the occupants of the vehicle are not recognizable. If there is no parking violation, the entry and exit data is automatically deleted. "There is expressly no video recording. No public property is recorded either."

The Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner has examined the measures and considers them to be proportionate. Consumer protection also advises paying the fines. Otherwise, charges could be brought - and then it gets really expensive.