sharing images of children on line... specific legislation

positivenote

Hi All,
im currently a PhD student in social sciences area and im seeking legal clarification on the issue of taking and sharing images of children. Is my understanding correct from a legal perspective:
Any individual can take a photograph of anybody (adult or child) in a public place and share it across social media without permission from the individual and/or the childs guardian/parent as once in a public place any expectation of privacy is void?

I accept there maybe issues morally etc... but from a legal standpoint no permission is actually required to photograph and share images of children once they are in a public place.

Thanks in advance for any advice

GM228

positivenote wrote: »

Hi All,
im currently a PhD student in social sciences area and im seeking legal clarification on the issue of taking and sharing images of children. Is my understanding correct from a legal perspective:
Any individual can take a photograph of anybody (adult or child) in a public place and share it across social media without permission from the individual and/or the childs guardian/parent as once in a public place any expectation of privacy is void?

I accept there maybe issues morally etc... but from a legal standpoint no permission is actually required to photograph and share images of children once they are in a public place.

Thanks in advance for any advice

Your understanding is not correct, there can be an expectation of privacy in a public place (depending on the circumstances), there have been a number of cases to highlight this such as the UK House of Lords Campbell vs Mirror Group Newspapers Ltd [2004] UKHL 22 case, the European Court of Human Rights Von Hannover vs Germany (No. 59320/00) ECHR 2004 case and the three UK Douglas vs Hello - [2001] 2 WLR 992, [2003] EWHC 786 and EWCA Civ 595 cases. There was also the Doonbeg case.

Apart from wondering why you want to share images of children I would advise you seek a solicitor for further advice.

nuac

Mod
As GM228 says. Be careful
I presume whoever is supervising your Ph.D will be able to give your some guidelines

Grolschevik

When I was proposing postdoctoral work on terrorist groups, I had to run the fact that I'd have to visit some, er, 'problematic' websites by a college ethics committee.

There's probably something similar in your place. As Nuac says, ask your supervisor and/or head of department.

positivenote

Thanks guys for the feedback. My area of research is specifically the impact that attitudes concerning the everyday photographing/sharing of images of children is having upon the practices of photographing and sharing. It’s from an Irish perspective so the UK legislation and cases may not be relevant... but I’m just looking for clarification regarding the legalities concerning the photographing and sharing of images that include children. If there is specific legislation then it would be really appreciated if anyone could direct me to it. Thanks a million

positivenote

Grolschevik wrote: »

When I was proposing postdoctoral work on terrorist groups, I had to run the fact that I'd have to visit some, er, 'problematic' websites by a college ethics committee.

There's probably something similar in your place. As Nuac says, ask your supervisor and/or head of department.

Yeah I had to get through the ethics panel alright, but have successfully navigated that...

nuac

Mod
PN, sorry, .this forum does not offer legal advice. You should consult your own solicitor.
Good luck. Thread closed