Keizer said the cameras in the bathroom made him feel “deeply disturbed” and he reached out to McDonald’s in an email, obtained by the Herald.
“I’m writing to express my serious concern and strong disapproval regarding the presence of security cameras in the bathrooms of your Trentham restaurant,” Keizer said.
He said he understood vandalism can be an issue that is frustrating for businesses, but “that even if these cameras are only pointed at the sinks, it’s still an unacceptable and frankly perverse use of surveillance”.
“Bathrooms are private spaces and the presence of cameras infringes upon the basic right to privacy.”
Keizer said he reached out to police, who confirmed it wasn’t illegal to install cameras in bathrooms.
But Keizer said it still felt “a bit creepy” and noted that people of all ages used the bathrooms.
“I think the camera should be 100% taken down, and the footage on it deleted.”
But McDonald’s spokesman Simon Kenny said the use of CCTV in a bathroom environment was carefully considered and only used in the common areas, such as around the sinks and entry/exit doors.
“Like many New Zealand businesses, the use of CCTV in and around McDonald’s restaurants is commonplace.
“The primary purpose is to ensure a safe environment for staff and customers.”
Kenny said the bathrooms in some McDonald’s restaurants had suffered from ongoing vandalism and the cameras were to deter further damage.
“This has meant [bathrooms] have required regular and costly repairs,” he said.
“Our franchisees invest a considerable amount on a range of measures and CCTV in bathrooms has been an effective deterrent.
Kenny said CCTV had been “essential in helping investigate crimes and reduce the incidence of antisocial behaviour”.
“Generally, customers understand we are looking to strike the right balance to manage antisocial behaviour and ensure customers can enjoy their visit to McDonald’s.”
It’s not the first time that cameras in the bathrooms of the fast-food restaurant have drawn criticism.
In 2012, questions were raised about the use of cameras in the McDonald’s Papakura outlet.
And in 2015, a McDonald’s restaurant in Christchurch also defended the use of surveillance cameras in its toilets installed to deter vandals.
“If I had of [sic] seen the sign before that I would have gone into the cubicle or something,” Christchurch customer Nicholas Case said at the time.
“It was a bit of a shock to see that there was a camera watching what I was up to in the toilet.”
While there is no law banning CCTV from public bathrooms, the Privacy Commission offers guidelines for companies that use, or want to use, CCTV.
The guidelines state that CCTV cameras should only collect essentials and aim to collect the “least amount of personal information” it can.
It also needs to be clear to people that they’re being recorded, such as the signage displayed in the McDonald’s bathroom.
Businesses that wanted to install cameras in bathrooms also needed to ensure they didn’t capture video recordings of people naked, part-naked, having sex, showering or toileting, as it could have legal implications.
