Children’s advocacy groups yesterday called on the government to ensure childcare surveillance footage is securely protected, after a provision in the Childcare Services Act (兒童托育服務法) requiring footage to be uploaded to a regulatory cloud system sparked privacy concerns.
Childcare centers in Taiwan are required by law to install surveillance cameras, but concerns over missing or damaged footage have persisted.
The new act passed on April 14 mandates the 30-day retention of recordings for children aged two years old and younger, which must be uploaded and stored on a centralized government system.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
Twenty childhood education groups yesterday gathered outside the Legislative Yuan, saying that uploading surveillance footage to the cloud contravenes the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and threatens children’s privacy.
The groups said they oppose cloud storage of footage rather than cameras themselves, calling for protection of childcare professionalism and workers’ dignity.
Footage of highly private moments would be stored and could be leaked if there are cybersecurity breaches, they said.
They called for the subsidiary regulations to incorporate three key principles: Avoid comprehensive real-time surveillance to prevent undue intrusion into children’s lives; ensure video uploads and access require written parental consent; and establish clear limits and a regulatory framework for accessing the footage.
Childcare centers have been using surveillance cameras since 2020 and institutions should be allowed to upgrade their own systems rather than rely on a centralized cloud, Child Education and Nursing Association president Chiang Shu-jung (蔣叔融) said.
Childcare centers depend on trustworthy staff and a loving environment, Chiang said, adding that installing excessive surveillance does not equate to genuine protection.
The government should engage in further dialogue with educators and parents instead of penalizing nearly 2,000 childcare providers based on a single case, Chiang added, referring to the high-profile death of a one-year-old nicknamed Kai Kai (剴剴), which occurred at home rather than a childcare center.
Uploading surveillance footage to the cloud raises concerns over children’s privacy and data protection, as childcare centers use full-coverage surveillance, meaning even private moments such as changing of diapers or undressing are recorded, Taiwan Early Childhood Education Association president Yeh Jo-chiao (葉若蕎) said.
Centralizing all footage in the cloud poses hacking risks, Yeh said, urging the government to give the policy more careful consideration to find what is truly best for children.
She stressed the importance of fostering a positive childcare environment, supporting professional development for staff and improving teacher-parent communication.
The regulatory cloud system is dangerous as the videos reveal children in vulnerable situations and it is unclear where they would even be stored, said a mother of three.
Those speaking out do not oppose the government, but seek dialogue, Chinese Early Childhood Education Association chairman Su Chuan-chen (蘇傳臣) said, adding that public views and concerns should be taken into account in the drafting of the subsidiary regulations.
Data in the regulatory cloud system could only be accessed according to legal procedures and would not be available for arbitrary or real-time viewing, Minister of Health and Welfare Shih Chung-liang (石崇良) said yesterday, emphasizing that there would be no privacy leaks.
The government would draft detailed subsidiary regulations for the regulatory cloud system and the exact implementation would be discussed with relevant parties, Shih said.
Additional reporting by CNA
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