Photography a growing problem?
It seems the proliferation of image-capture devices of all kinds is starting to really piss people off. I snapped a photo of this ad while on the Yamanote JR line this past weekend; I was in a bit of a hurry so the text is unreadable, but it essentially says “Taking a photo of a face without permission is prohibited”. The largest font is of course in Japanese, but translations were in English, Korean, and Chinese. It’s not clear to me who is sponsoring this advertisement, but my guess is that a number of upset individuals voiced complaints enough to create some support group. I’m not clear on Japan’s photography rights (anyone care to clarify or submit links?), but it’s my understanding that at least in the U.S., once you step outside you submit yourself to the public lens. It’s also interesting to note the focus on the face, as opposed to the more voyeuristic photography by perveted individuals.
August 19th, 2003 at 8:17 pm
Hey Matt, Miwa’s Simon here, nice blog.
That advertising campaign is actually continuation of recent campaign about protecting artists’ rights to their own image, from misuse and abuse (and the organization probably goes overboard with trying to protect any unauthorized use…)
Here’s the link:
http://www.jame.or.jp/syozoken/
August 19th, 2003 at 11:44 pm
also matt, i remember one day we were walking out for lunch in gotanda and we stopped at the crosswalk. i remember a girl across the street, flipped out her keitai and took YOUR picture.
this was awhile ago but i was surprised. you never even noticed it. i didn’t see the shot she got but it looked like she got a great shot of your face.
you should definitely be looking out for your mug shot online… -_^
August 20th, 2003 at 7:15 am
ah, thanks for telling me when you noticed that i didn’t notice…
August 21st, 2003 at 1:36 pm
This image (which if you look carefully looks like a CGI, not a photo) and the topics behind it have been recently discussed on the JP-photographers mailing list, which is a nice, new list for photographers in Japan.
http://esthet.org/japanphotography/
August 22nd, 2003 at 11:11 am
have you seen ditto.com? a way to search for things by picture . . . and lots of photos!
August 24th, 2003 at 10:00 am
“but it’s my understanding that at least in the U.S., once you step outside you submit yourself to the public lens.”
And it’s that kind of thinking that contributes to the downfall of mankind. The campaign is about courtesy to others, not photographers “rights.”
August 24th, 2003 at 4:17 pm
Actually noface, if you checked out the links given above, you’d have noticed that it’s JAME sponsoring the campaign. The ads may give the impression it’s about “courtesy to others”, but I’m willing to bet they have a different ultimate agenda (perhaps something along the lines of retaining copyrights and keeping the profits flowing :)
and you don’t have to worry about the downfall of mankind — i’m the last person anyone would want to ask to take a picture.
November 27th, 2003 at 2:30 am
The end of photoblogging?
”Referring to various persons on an internet page and identifying them either by name or by other means constitutes processing of personal data by automatic means within the meaning of Community law” [new court ruling in Europe] (Additionally, lots o…