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It must be understood that its not illegal in Germany to take someones picture in a public place, but to _publish_ it or make it available to the public, or use
by boffinAudio 2y ago
It must be understood that its not illegal in Germany to take someones picture in a public place, but to _publish_ it or make it available to the public, or use it for commercial purposes, without their permission.
That is a very distinct line that is often confused. If you are in public in Germany, I can take your picture - I cannot publish it, however, without your involvement. I can take your picture if you are in the middle of committing a crime, for the purposes of providing evidence to the police.
The fact is, it is a fundamental human right to be able to record ones environment, and this right is just as important as the right to be free from ridicule through a publication of ones image.
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- eqvinox 2y agoThanks for the correction, I do keep fuzzying up taking vs. publishing. I've edited a note into the parent post. (for completeness: taking photos is only restricted by §201a StGB, which makes illegal taking photos in someone's home or areas specifically secluded from public view, or if a person's helplessness is exposed)
- boffinAudio 2y agoYou're welcome. But to be sure, your edit doesn't really bring clarity to your statement. Perhaps you'd consider just removing the 'taking' part and supplanting it with 'publishing', since those are vastly different things which should not be conflated.
- eqvinox 2y agore-edited :)
- djoldman 2y agoAre there exceptions for police, fire fighters, elected officials, or other governmental employees? Are you allowed to do so for these people if they are acting in their official capacity?
- boffinAudio 2y agoYes, you are allowed to film the police. This is a fundamental human right, which Germany has a long history (so far) of respecting. You may not use the pictures you take for commercial purposes, or for the purposes of ridicule or to interfere with their official duties.
- Turing_Machine 2y ago>> This is a fundamental human right, which Germany has a long history (so far) of respecting. I can think of at least 20 million people who would strongly disagree with that, if they weren't dead.
- boffinAudio 2y agoOkay, so for 70 years, Germans have cared about human rights a tad bit more emotionally than most other nations in the Western sphere.
- wongarsu 2y agoOriginally that was the case, but the current situation is better summarized as "it's complicated". Or in the words of the federal court of justice "Whether and to what extent the production of such images is illegal and impermissible or must be accepted by the person concerned can only be determined by taking into account all the circumstances of the individual case and by carrying out a balancing of interests and interests that takes into account all the legal, and in particular constitutionally protected, positions of the parties involved." Though as a private person you are generally right if you assume that in "normal" situations (so not filming a public bathroom or trying to take upskirt pictures or something like that) you are allowed to take pictures you don't want to publish, as long as you are willing to delete the pictures if the subject specifically asks for it. [1]: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recht_am_eigenen_Bild_(Deutschland)#(Blo%C3%9Fes)_Erstellen_von_Bildern https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recht_am_eigenen_Bild_(Deutsch...
- boffinAudio 2y agoYou do not have to delete the pictures you have taken in a common, public space, even if asked. You have the basic right to record your environment in public - this is to ensure that people are able to collect evidence in the case of crimes being committed in the public sphere, and its how - for example - bank cameras work.
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]