What's the law regarding paparazzi photos of "celeb's" children?

Bondvillain

Just wondering, as the Irish daily star today has some particularly intrusive pictures of Robbie Keane's toddler son that were clearly taken without the family's knowledge from long distance with a zoom lens, & the child's face is visible in one of the photographs (as is Keane's wife's bikini clad arse, which is, Im sure, the reason the photos were hawked around to the gutter press in the first place).

I'm fully aware that paparazzi behaviour such as the kind normally purchased by The star and the other excrement filled rags on sale here are certainly distasteful and immoral; but in my innocence, I thought that publishing a child's image without parental permission was illegal here in Ireland.

Am I wrong in thinking this?

crowdflash

I agree with you. I don't know of any specific law pertaining to children (except possibly for commerical purposes), but there is a code of practice for photography, and children, in general.

http://www.presscouncil.ie/code-of-practice.150.html

The NUJ may have their own guidelines, and basically ethics should apply here. To be honest, I don't think anyone should be photographed without their permission even if in a public place. Everybody should enforce their image rights especially if their picture is shown in any way to promote a programme, product or service.