Is it possible to "take casual photos" of public figures on the street?
Experts: Disputes should be resolved through negotiation according to law
● The beating incident of Wang Moumou in Shanghai has aroused great concern in the society.
While condemning violence, many people are also deeply discussing the issue of privacy rights. With the rise of self-media and short video platforms, "casual shooting" and street shooting have become very common in daily life, not only for public figures , even ordinary people may be photographed, where is the legal limit
● Compared with ordinary people, the privacy or portrait rights of public figures and artists are somewhat restricted.
If the itinerary has been announced to the public, and the shooting location is a public place, the shooting does not constitute infringement; if the itinerary is not announced to the public, or even strict confidentiality measures are taken, and the shooting location is at home, private places, etc., it is an invasion of privacy rights and image rights
● Shooting without the consent of the subject is suspected of infringing on the portrait right of the subject, and the dissemination of photos on the Internet platform may also cause damage to the reputation of the subject. The phenomenon of casual photography and street photography urgently needs to be regulated by law.
Once an infringement dispute occurs, the person who has been secretly photographed can pursue the responsibility of the network platform, and the platform can recover from the publisher after compensation
□ Reporter Han Dandong
□ Our newspaper intern Wang Yitian
Recently, the beating incident of Wang Moumou in Shanghai has aroused great concern in the society, and related reports have rushed to the hot search list many times.
On January 12, the Shanghai Jing'an Police issued a notice, and received a report at 4 o'clock on the 11th that someone had been beaten at the door of a business building on Nanjing West Road.
After investigation, Wang Moumou and others mistakenly thought that Chen Moumou, who was waiting on the roadside, took pictures of him, and asked Chen Moumou not to take pictures. Chen Moumou said he did not take pictures, and the two sides had a quarrel.
Wang Moumou and others beat Chen Moumou.
After judicial appraisal, Chen Moumou was comprehensively assessed as a minor injury.
Later, some media confirmed that the assailant was Wang Moumou, a well-known public figure.
While condemning violence, many people are also deeply discussing the issue of privacy rights. With the rise of self-media and short video platforms, "casual shooting" and street shooting have become very common in daily life, not only for public figures , even ordinary people may become the subject of photography, where is the legal boundary?
Several experts said in an interview with a reporter from the "Rule of Law Daily" that shooting without the consent of the subject is suspected of violating the portrait right of the subject, and that the dissemination of photos on online platforms may also cause damage to the subject's reputation. The phenomena of "snapshots" and street photography urgently need to be regulated by law.
When encountering unauthorized filming, it should be resolved through consultation in accordance with the law, rather than relying on violence.
Candid photography is common
Privacy Boundaries Must Be Defined
The reporter noticed that after the exposure of Wang Moumou's beating incident, there were different voices on the Internet: Some netizens speculated that the person who took the photo might be a paparazzi. , even if it was really photographed at that time, there should be tolerance for being photographed.
In fact, disputes caused by public figures and entertainers are not uncommon due to being photographed.
Also on January 12, the blogger Liu Moumou posted a video of a well-known artist surnamed Wang on his social platform, and posted "He found out this time, I'm sorry, I will hide it better next time."
Later, there was a dispute between the two, and Liu Moumou claimed that he was almost beaten.
As soon as the incident came out, it was on the hot search list and attracted heated discussions among netizens.
With the advent of the Internet age, the lives of public figures and artists have become more transparent, and some fans are also keen to dig out their behind-the-scenes life.
Whether it's at the airport, or shopping and eating, there will always be flashing lights around public figures and entertainers from time to time.
Some fans even sneaked into the communities where public figures and artists live, and secretly took photos of their lives, which seriously affected the normal lives of public figures and artists.
So, is it possible to "take casual photos" of public figures and entertainers?
Is the privacy boundary of public figures and artists different from that of ordinary people?
"Compared with ordinary people, the privacy or portrait rights of public figures and artists are subject to certain restrictions, and whether 'snap shots' infringes rights needs to be judged based on specific circumstances." Zhao Zhan, a special researcher at the Intellectual Property Research Center of China University of Political Science and Law, said, If the itinerary has been announced to the public and the shooting location is a public place, the shooting in this case does not constitute infringement; if the itinerary has not been announced to the public, even strict confidentiality measures have been taken, and the shooting location is at home, a private place, etc. In non-public places, candid photography is a violation of privacy and portrait rights.
Once public figures and entertainers find out that they have been secretly photographed, they will often take action to stop fans and paparazzi from taking pictures, and ask them to delete the photos they took.
In this regard, Feng Xiaoqing, a professor at China University of Political Science and Law, analyzed that, legally speaking, public figures and entertainers have the same legal status as ordinary people, and they also have the right to prohibit others from secretly taking pictures.
But in the end, it should be judged by the use of the sneak shot. If the sneak shot is purely for personal appreciation or spread within a small range of family and friends, it is difficult for the sneak shot to know, and there is no need to bear the tort liability; if the photo is made public or used for commercial purposes, Even if it is used in inappropriate occasions and causes serious consequences, it should bear legal responsibility.
Duan Yingzi, a lawyer at Beijing Taoan Law Firm, said that due to the special nature of the work and life of public figures and artists, and the need to consider factors such as the public’s right to know, academic and judicial opinions usually believe that public figures and artists There should be a certain tolerance for damage to some of the content of rights.
As for the boundary of "tolerance", it is necessary to consider the moral standards generally recognized by the society, that is, the basic personality rights cannot be damaged without a bottom line.
How should public figures and entertainers stop if they are found to be secretly filming?
Duan Yingzi said that disputes over candid and street photography usually take place on the spot, and it is difficult to recommend that the infringed person seek relief from the court according to the script.
Street photography implies legal risks
Random shooting may infringe copyright
In life, not only celebrities, but everyone can be the subject of photography.
Street photography is popular nowadays, and the "photographer" only needs to zoom in and press the shutter, and a close-up street photography of a person is completed.
Among them, many photos were taken without the consent of the people who were photographed, and their portraits were fixed in the photos and then uploaded to the Internet.
Some people even use the name of street photography to commit crimes.
In January last year, a man in Chengdu, Sichuan Province secretly photographed a woman in a public toilet, but was discovered by enthusiastic citizens around him and restrained on the spot.
After questioning by the police, the man confessed to the above-mentioned illegal facts and was finally detained for 5 days.
Feng Xiaoqing said that there is no doubt that candid photography is an illegal act. Whether it is the protection of privacy in the Civil Code or the relevant provisions of the Personal Information Protection Law, taking pictures of others without permission, or even spreading the photos obtained by candid photography, is a violation of the law. A manifestation of the privacy rights of others.
my country's criminal law also stipulates the crime of illegally using special equipment for eavesdropping and stealing photos, and stipulates the circumstances that cause serious consequences.
Among them, those who steal photos (that is, sneak shots) cause serious consequences, and can be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than two years.
"Whether it is street photography or candid photography, if it is a portrait of a person, it will involve the portrait right of the person being photographed. According to the Civil Code, without the consent of the portrait right holder, it is not allowed to make, use, or publish the portrait of the portrait right holder. The right holder of the work (in the case of street photography, usually refers to the photographer) shall not use or disclose the portrait of the right holder in the form of publication, reproduction, distribution, rental, exhibition, etc." Duan Yingzi said.
Duan Yingzi further analyzed that if the shooting content or shooting methods are special, such as shooting other people's private activities in private spaces such as residences and hotel rooms, or shooting the private parts of other people's bodies, according to the Civil Code, it may violate the rights of the person being photographed. privacy.
Relatively bad behavior may also violate the Public Security Management Punishment Law or even violate the Criminal Law.
"It is not allowed to shoot at will without the permission of the person being photographed, let alone release it at will, because sneak photography usually violates the right of tranquility and portrait of the person being photographed." Zhao Zhan said, if the purpose of use is to show a specific public environment , Inevitably taking pictures of other people's portraits, but not displaying the other people's portraits as the main body of the picture, and not exposing the privacy of others, does not involve infringement of other people's portrait rights and privacy rights.
distributing photos without permission
Platforms can be held accountable
During the shooting process, some "photographers" like to record the most authentic and natural state of people, and the premise of showing this state requires that the person being photographed does not realize that he is being photographed, which creates a unique The branch of street shooting, but various misunderstandings may also occur during the shooting process.
Xiao Zeng, a photographer from Xuhui District, Shanghai, recalled that once he was photographing a food stall owner working seriously, the other party found him after taking pictures, hurriedly cleaned up the stall, and ran away without looking back. The food was also knocked to the ground.
Afterwards, Xiao Zeng found the stall owner and said that he just thought the picture was beautiful, so he took a picture of it. However, the stall owner thought that Xiao Zeng was a law enforcement officer and wanted to take pictures and leave a certificate to detain the stall. This caused a misunderstanding.
"Later, every time before I shoot, I will ask for the consent of the subject." Xiao Zeng said.
Xiao Li, a resident of Wuxi City, Jiangsu Province, introduced her "encounter" to the reporter: In April last year, when she checked Moments, she found that her photo had become someone else's profile picture, and even the photo of herself walking was sent to the chat. Dating site.
This surprised and angered her.
Later, I found out that when Xiao Li and his friend went out to play in March last year, the friend took this group of photos when Xiao Li was not paying attention, and uploaded the photos to his personal social platform afterwards. Unexpectedly, they were used by people with ulterior motives.
Although friends deleted the photos immediately, they were still circulated on the Internet.
Feng Xiaoqing told reporters that it is necessary to distinguish whether to make the photos public when taking photos on the street. Undisclosed collection and appreciation behaviors will not have corresponding legal consequences, and will not have adverse effects on the people being photographed from the social level.
Once the photos are published, the degree of infringement must be determined according to the scope of dissemination and the degree of influence.
Zhao Zhanzhan said that even if the photos posted by candid or street photographers on social networking platforms are originally for collection, if they are re-posted by others and have a negative impact on the person being photographed, the candid or street photographers still have to bear the responsibility. Tort Liability.
"After being photographed, the person who was photographed asked to delete the picture or video, which is to express clearly that he does not agree to his portrait being published or produced, and is asking the photographer to stop infringing on his own rights and interests in the form of private relief. The photographer had better cooperate Otherwise, the right holder has the right to require the photographer to bear civil liability through judicial channels." Duan Yingzi said.
So, what kind of "casual shooting" and street shooting is the correct way to shoot?
"Some photographers may have a misunderstanding, thinking that it is ok to not make a profit when shooting or publishing in public. In fact, according to the law, whether it is shooting or subsequent use, release, etc., it needs to be approved by the person being photographed. Agree, otherwise it may infringe his portrait right." Duan Yingzi said.
What measures should the platform take against the widespread dissemination of unauthorized candid and street photos on online platforms?
Feng Xiaoqing said that the publisher must bear the responsibility. There is a relevant agreement between the platform and the publisher, but the agreement is not binding on the third party who has been photographed secretly, and the contract is relative. Once there is an infringement problem, the platform cannot shirk its responsibility. Those who can hold the platform accountable.
After the platform compensates, it can recover from the publisher.
"Compared with the previous General Principles of the Civil Law, the Civil Code has made more detailed regulations on personality rights such as the right to portrait. For example, the General Principles of the Civil Law mainly emphasize that 'the portrait of a citizen shall not be used for profit' without consent." The Civil Code no longer distinguishes whether the purpose of the photographer is to make a profit, which is a more thoughtful protection of the portrait rights of civil subjects." Duan Yingzi reminded that shooting should also be done according to the law.
Comics/Gao Yue