In Ireland there is no licensing of CCTV cameras and they can be placed anywhere on your property and so long as you can give a reason, they can look at whatever you want. In Britain there are over 4.8 million cameras watching the general populace.

The government operates cameras, shops run cameras and even homes are now becoming equipped with CCTV surveillance. Every day you are recorded doing the most mundane tasks. Short of keeping your face covered at all times it is becoming impossible to not be caught on camera.

So what can you do?

The answer unfortunately is very little. You should try to be aware of when you are under surveillance and also know your rights regarding how the data can be used. In Ireland we are protected by the data commissioner.

While there are laws in place to prevent data being shared, a single surveillance company can operate cameras in multiple areas and the lines between sharing data suddenly become blurred. Who gets to see the footage? How long is it stored? Without licensing and checking of surveillance it's impossible to know if the laws are complied with.