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Silent monitoring - OHIM

18
Jul
2007
Opinions Prior Check and Prior Consultations

Silent monitoring - OHIM

Opinion of 18 July 2007 on a notification for prior checking on silent monitoring (Case 2007-128)

The processing operations consist in the selective monitoring of incoming phone calls processed by the Information Centre Sector. Incoming phone calls are firstly caught by the Switchboard of OHIM. Depending on the subject of the call, the Switchboard puts the call through either to a specific person in OHIM or to the Information Centre, which is competent to address general issues or further put the call through to a specific person in OHIM.
 
During a “Silent Monitoring” exercise, incoming callers are firstly asked for their prior consent to participate in the monitoring exercise. Upon their consent, a third party, namely the responsible person in the Information Centre Sector, is silently listening to the conversation. While a call is monitored, a background signal is continuously emitted so that both the caller and the Switchboard or Information Centre are aware that the call is monitored by a third person. The call is not further monitored when it is put through to a specific person in OHIM. 

Therefore, the purposes of the processing operations referred to in the present notification for prior check, are to assess the quality of the service provided by the Switchboard and by the Information Centre as follows:

  • Switchboard: Quality control and improvement of services in compliance with the Service Level Agreement concluded with the external provider (contractor).
  • Information Centre: Quality control, improvement of services, staff appraisal.  

The EDPS has issued an opinion on this procedure which concludes that on a general basis the procedure complies with the principles established in the data protection regulation. However, the EDPS did make some recommendations mainly as concerns avoidance of the use of Article 5(c) of the Regulation as the basis for lawfulness regarding the processing operation conducted vis-à-vis the Switchboard. On the contrary, Article 5(a) of the Regulation has to be used in this regard. Furthermore, a method to guarantee the accuracy of the data should be found. This could be done either by recording the monitored calls or by sharing with the data subject the results of the monitoring in an immediate manner (e.g. after each day of the monitoring exercise), in such a way that the results are documented and discussed as soon as possible after the listening.

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