(Adapted from the text of Ulla Virranniemi (Oamk)

The recording of lectures and various other presentations and events has become more common. Along that, the interest has also arisen in recording online meetings and conversations. In such a situation, the purpose of the recording is usually to help remember and share information even with those who were not able to attend the meeting.

Although there are many practical benefits associated with recordings, it is important that we all also recognize the responsibilities and risks associated with recording and follow the same principles. This page summarizes the principles and guidelines for recording meetings in Teams and Zoom and how to utilize the recordings. You can also apply these to other tools and methods used in making, storing, and sharing the records. These instructions apply to recording meetings in video, audio and/or text format. (NB. Oamk has separate instructions for videos related to teaching.)

Content

• Before recording
• When not to make/keep a video, audio or text recording
• Situations where recording can be useful and can usually be done
• If you plan to record the event
• During the meeting/event
• After the meeting
• Existing recordings
• Avoiding problems
• Problem solving

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Before you decide to record a meeting, consider the following:

1. Would it be acceptable from the participants’ perspective if someone would record the meeting or transcribe in verbatim, and then showed it to an outsider?
2. Will recording limit the openness of the conversation?
3. Is the meeting confidential? Is the information meant for the participants only?

Don’t record or keep a video, audio, or (verbatim) transcription if:

• A memorandum or minutes of the meeting is written, (although the author of the memorandum might wish to record the meeting to support the preparation of the memorandum; but then he/she must destroy the recording as soon as the memo is ready.)
• any of the participants objects to the recording, or
• it is a matter of handling confidential matters or a discussion containing special personal data (e.g. a development discussion or other confidential discussion involving personal matters.)

In the following situations, a recording can be useful and can usually be done:

• A public lecture, speech, or presentation.
• For onboarding a new employee or storing the team’s internal instructions for the team’s own use.
• To provide accessibility: a subtitled recording helps the participant to follow the presentation. The ability to re-view the recording makes the meeting more accessible.
• An idea workshop where the recording helps to put together ideas.
• The recording will be made only for a part of the event, for example, a summary and agreed follow-up; The recording is cut off if personal data or other confidential matters are discussed in the meeting.

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If you plan to record an event:

• Provide this information already in the meeting invitation:
  • the meeting will be recorded,
  • the reason for recording (e.g. accessibility, or providing a possibility of watching the recording if some participants will not be able to attend the meeting),
  • where the recording can be viewed,
  • to whom it is intended, and
  • how long you plan to keep the recording.
    • If necessary, put it in your calendar, so that you remember to delete the recording at the time you promised.
• Do not store recordings just in case: when the reason for recording that you have indicated ceases, there is no longer a valid reason to keep the recording. If there is a new reason for the retention, or the recording needs to be stored for a longer period of time than you have previously stated, or the recording should be shared more widely, you should notify the participants and possibly ask them for permission.

During the meeting/event

1. Let the participants know that the meeting will be recorded. The built-in recording feature in Teams and Zoom shows the participant that the meeting is being recorded. Those who join the meeting later, will also receive a notification that the event will be recorded. In Teams, it’s also possible to record a meeting in plain text (transcription): If you do, Teams will let the attendees know about it.
2. Let the participants know that they should turn off their cameras if they don’t want to appear on the recording.
3. Temporarily pause recording if you are working on topics that should not be recorded.
4. Depending on the recording method, the chat conversation may appear in the recording. Note, however, that if you answer eg. questions asked in the chat, make it a habit to read the question aloud first (It improves accessibility already during a remote meeting, even if the meeting is not even recorded).

After the meeting

1. Make sure that the recording does not contain unnecessary information, conversations and interruptions. If something has ended up in the recording that shouldn’t be in it, edit it out before sharing the recording. If at this point you still have the original recording, which still contains the deleted part, delete that recording from your own files as well. (You can edit the video in YuJa or another video tool.)
2. Meetings recorded in Teams are saved to the recorder’s OneDrive account or the SharePoint platform used by Teams, depending on how the meeting is set up. (See Recording a meeting in Teams – Microsoft Support) If the video is on your OneDrive, you can set its sharing settings there. If you make a recording of a Teams channel meeting, the recording will be automatically shared with all channel members (NB. the link doesn’t work to guest users from other organizations) in the meeting chat — then it’s not a private recording.
3. Zoom meetings are recorded on the recorder’s computer or in Zoom’s cloud service. The video must be shared with another service (e. g. YuJa).
4. If the transcription contains errors, it should be corrected. The transcription should be approved by the participants.

N.B! If the organizer of the event/meeting is not making a recording, other participants may not make a recording of the event without permission. That is, recording a meeting or a private conversation related to work, even for your own private use, without the approval of all participants, is prohibited. But it’s good to be aware that screen capture programs don’t show the recording to the participants. Technically, a recording can be done by any participant, which is why particularly sensitive issues shouldn’t be discussed in online meetings.  The risk of abuse increases in proportion to the number of participants.

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Existing recordings

• The recording may be a document in accordance with the Act on the Openness of Government Activities. It means the document might be subject to a request for information.
• Typically, a recording contains personal data, which are the participants’ names, voices, pictures, as well as all the personal information that may appear in the conversation. This makes the recording a subject to GDPR and other data protection rules regarding the processing of personal data.
• It is good to be aware that a recording (or a part of the recording), which has already been shared with others, or the security of the storage location of the private recording has been compromised; it may end up being presented out of context, for example on social media.
• The responsibility for storing the recording lies with the recorder. If there is a need to transfer the responsibility, it should be agreed upon separately.
• Limit the storage period of the recording only for the duration of its use and make sure that the recording is deleted when it’s due.
• Keep your non-public recordings in a secure location. Note that the recording may be located in a different location than where you usually store files.
• The recording may contain copyrighted content, in which case it must not be shared without an appropriate license.
• Sharing should still be considered separately: the reason to save is does provide the reason to share, or keep the recording available for others.
• Delete the recording when you no longer need it.

Solving problem situations in advance

• What should the organizer do if any of the participants object to the recording or wants options:
  • If any participant objects to making a recording, the recording should not be made without a particularly meaningful reason.
  • However, in the case of e. g. of the rector’s information event, or any other event that is intended to be recorded by default, the opposition of an individual participant does not affect the recording.
  • You can also agree with the participants that you will only record a part of the event, or you can agree that the person who opposes the recording will not attend the event. Once you’ve announced the recording in advance, you can also expect the participants who object to the recording to notify you in advance so that you have time to consider and explore your options.
  • Other possibilities include anonymous participation:
    • For example, is it enough to turn off the web camera?
    • In Zoom, it is possible to change the participant’s name that is visible to others in the meeting.
    • Other possibilities include joining the meeting with a guest ID or call. Please note that e. g. to join with a guest ID, it must be allowed in the meeting settings as well.

If a problem situation occurs

• If the recording ends up in the wrong context or in the wrong hands, it may be a data protection or data security incident. In that case, please let us know, see relevant contact information below.
• Information security incident and reporting it. If you suspect that data protection has been compromised, notify the Data Protection Officer: At the University of Oulu, you can reach the Data Protection Officer at dpo (at) oulu.fi. At Oamk, pease send a message to: tietosuoja (at) oulu.fi and to ensure fast processing, send the message also to helpdesk@oamk.fi
• If your recording is lost, you can contact the administrator of the system or service through ICT services, see our contact information on the main page of ict.oulu.fi: Please mention the system/service when you contact us.
• If one of the participants or an outsider requires the recording for themselves, for example based on the Act on the Openness of Government Activities, even though you have not published/shared the recording and do not intend to,  please contact Legal Counsel at the University of Oulu at legal (at) oulu.fi and at Oamk directly at Oamk’s lawyer (Ulla Virranniemi).

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