Privacy in Public in Europe?

The following is a MediaNote Classic. This MediaNote was originally presented to MC101 classes in Summer 2018.

In general, Europeans protect their personal privacy a bit more than Americans do. The latest example of this is a European Union law that gives people the right to not have their image posted online if they don't want it posted. This means, for example, that if your sister takes a picture of you in front of the former Berlin Wall and posts it on Facebook, a local person identifiable in the background of the photo can demand that it be removed. NPR reports.

Questions...

•What do you think of this law?

•Should photos have free speech protection? Why or why not?

•Could this law have an impact on photojournalism?

•In the US, people who get photographed in public cannot claim a right to privacy. Journalists are free to photograph things that are newsworthy. People whose likeness is used for profit--your face is on a can of soup, for example--can sue if they have not agreed to have their likeness used. What do you think of this?

•In the example above, how can you deal with the EU citizen who doesn't want to be in your tourist photo?