Why uploading photos to Flickr is against the law

A piece I wrote on Sunday has stirred up a debate among some amateur photographers.

I wrote that you can't upload pictures of random punters on the street to your Flickr, Facebook or blog account without their express permission. That's because their image is part of their personal data. A lot of people seemed to be unaware of this. And it does seem a little weird. Nevertheless, that's the way it is.

Here's the section of data protection law that deals with it. I had a chat with them to confirm it, too, in case there was any misunderstanding. (They've already taken action against people uploading videos to YouTube without getting consent from those identifiable in it.)

Comments

[Simon McGarr]

I don't see where, on the DPC site page you've linked to that they say something akin to what you're asserting.

I think you've overstated your case. Digital Rights Ireland have a good pamphlet covering these and other issues relevant to photographers.

[adrian]

The general principle is that if you take a photo of someone, you are now a data controller (whether you like it or not).
As such, you now have to adhere to data protection rules on how you 'process' that data. And that means getting consent for posting picture on public websites like Flickr.

The rules are supposed to reinforce the principle that a person has a right to how their image is used. So you can't go around taking photos people -- no matter where they are -- and use those images fro whatever you like.

For commercial purposes (Babes of Grafton Street Calendar 2009), for example.

There is a derogation in the legislation for artistic, literary or journalistic purposes. Presumable some (most?) bloggers see themselves in one or other of those categories, even if the data protection commissioner (or the circuit court, on appeal) is unlikely to agree.

[Orlaith]

That's handy to know. I found out recently that my boyfriend had made his Picasa web albums public. To make it easier for anyone to view our holiday snaps etc he had the link to our photo albums as a signature on his email. That's actually how I stumbled upon it, to my horror. Naturally I threatened to sue him for copyright infringement and that put a stop to it.

[adrian]

Ha ha! Actually, Orlaith, that's not copyright infringement at all -- he has the copyright to the photos. But you have rights over your images in his copyrighted pictures. So if I go and use those pictures on my blog, I have to get two sets of permissions -- yours for the data privacy and his for the copyright.

[orlaith]

Oh I see. well, hopefully, all this will make people think twice before indulging their compulsion to share embarrassing photos of loved ones with the wider world!

[adrian]

Like hell it will!