UK Home Office Booklet Misleads on Photography Rights, NUJ Warns
The UK Home Office has released a guide titled 'Understanding Behaviours and Expectations in the U.K.,' which suggests that public photography without consent can lead to arrest. This document has faced backlash from the National Union of Journalists (NUJ), who labeled it "misleading" and warned it might foster hostility towards photojournalists. They asserted that taking photographs in public places is not against the law and criticized the guide's lack of differentiation between lawful photography and the illegal dissemination of non-consensual images. The NUJ is calling for a revision to better educate asylum seekers on UK legislation.
Key facts
- The UK Home Office published a nine-page booklet titled 'Understanding behaviours and expectations in the U.K.'
- The booklet suggests that taking photographs of people in public without consent could result in arrest or prison.
- The booklet is intended as a guide for asylum seekers.
- The National Union of Journalists (NUJ) condemned the booklet as 'misleading'.
- The NUJ warned the guidance could lead to increased hostility toward photojournalists.
- The booklet fails to distinguish between photographing someone without consent and the criminal offense of taking/sharing sexual images without consent.
- The NUJ is calling on the Home Office to rectify the information.
- Last summer, the UK government suggested deleting old photos to save water, which was ridiculed.
Entities
Artists
- Matt Growcoot
Institutions
- Home Office
- National Union of Journalists (NUJ)
- Press Gazette
- Metropolitan Police
- PetaPixel
Locations
- United Kingdom
- London