Text/Hua Dolma
Today, a street shooting video has attracted the attention of netizens: a video of a man and a woman holding hands shopping was posted on social platforms, which caused a chain reaction due to the identities of both parties.
On the evening of the 7th, PetroChina Beijing Project Management Company issued a circular: According to the relevant information on the Internet about Hu Jiyong, an employee of our company's global project management company, the party committee of the company attached great importance to it and immediately organized verification and understanding. At present, the person involved in the incident, Hu Jiyong, has been removed from the positions of executive director, party secretary and general manager of Huanqiu Project Management Company, and has been verified by the company's discipline inspection commission. The company will further process based on the results.
Putting aside the matter itself, some netizens asked: Will street photography in public infringe on citizens' portrait rights? What other daily infringements of portrait rights are there?
Will agreeing to street photography still infringe on portrait rights?
At present, street photography pictures and videos on various social platforms have become commonplace, and in landmark commercial areas such as Sanlitun in Beijing and Taikoo Li in Chengdu, street photography has even become a trend. Whether it is a fashion blogger or an ordinary passerby, it is possible to be photographed by photographers. So, does street photography in public infringe on portrait rights?
You Yunting, a senior partner at Shanghai Dabang Law Firm, told China News Service that if a video or photo taken on the street can be posted on social media, the consent of the portrait rights holder must be obtained, otherwise it is suspected of infringing on the portrait rights of others.
In the incident where Hu Jiyong was filmed, a so-called informed source revealed that the cameraman had obtained Hu Jiyong's consent before shooting on the street. Is the videographer still infringing on portrait rights with consent?
You Yunting said that if the video is posted on social media with the consent of the insider, the insider has the right to request the photographer and the platform to delete the video, and if the video is deleted, it will not constitute infringement. However, if the photographer and platform refuse to delete it, it will still constitute infringement.
Where are the boundaries of portrait rights?
At present, with the widespread use of social media and the development of AI and other technologies, incidents of infringement of portrait rights are emerging one after another. In addition to street photography, what other behaviors in daily life can infringe on portrait rights?
You Yunting introduced that at present, the most infringement of portrait rights is the use of other people's avatars for commercial promotion without permission. For example, Ge You's paralyzed emoji was used for commercial promotion, and Ge You sued eLong and won.
In addition, with the development of AI and other technologies, the phenomenon of transferring flowers and grafting celebrity avatars on the Internet also often occurs. You Yunting said that such behavior would also infringe on portrait rights, and if it is suspected of insult or slander, it would also infringe on reputation rights.
Zhang Ming, a partner and lawyer at Beijing Jingshi Law Firm, introduced to China News Service that the behavior of infringing on portrait rights or improperly using other people's portraits is generally divided into the following situations:
The first is to disclose the portrait of the portrait rights holder without the consent of the right holder.
Second, without the consent of the portrait rights holder, the right holder of the portrait work arbitrarily uses or discloses the portrait of others.
The third is to make and use other people's portraits without authorization.
The fourth is to maliciously defame and deface the portraits of others.
Fifth, the use of information technology to forge portraits of others.