It will soon be illegal to take photographs in public, what do you think?

Question

This is because of paedophiles again, so if you want a photo of your children playing in a park or beach or somewhere you will need to apply for a licence... Is it a nanny culture gone too far or do you think this is just safeguarding our children?

(It's UK by the way, I read it this morning in the Telegraph)

Answer 1

I think you should panicking over anything you read in the Telegraph. One Welsh council has considered banning this but the Torygraph story itself cites massive public opposition to any such ban;

"A petition opposing any restriction on photography in public places has become the second most popular on the Downing Street website, attracting more than 55,000 signatures in just three weeks."

Answer 2

So you read it in a newspaper !!!!!!!!
This country is not governed by newspapers yet !
Read between the lines , and be More sceptical ,
of what rubbish those papers print !

Don't fret good family snapshots,
are being taken all the time and will ,
as long as cameras, of any kind exist

And NO ,you will not have to get a licence to do that

Child porn, cannot/ would not, be prevented,
by curtailing / licencing all family snap shots.

Paedophile images, are a totally different matter ,
and are dealt with by the law .

The bottom line
is do not believe, all that you read in the news- papers

>^,,^<

Answer 3

Clevergirl - you're obviously not that clever. Because there is no such law in preparation, nor has it even been proposed by any political party. This is just another wild rumour put about by the ultra paranoid, and willingly believed by the gullible.

For your information: Under UK law, there are no restrictions on taking photographs in a public place or on photography of individuals, whether they are adults or minors. There is no right to privacy in a public place, although photographers are of course subject to the usual libel laws in the same way as any other citizen and should observe them. Equipment or film may not be confiscated, or images deleted by any person or officer unless a warrant for such action is issued. Any attempt without a warrant is considered assault under UK law.

Answer 4

im a photographer, and if this is right, then its just another removal of my civil liberties... we cant take photos at the kids schools, and yet i can get free access as the editor or a local newspaper... bu8t if i go as a parent... oh no...

whilst i agree with the protection of our kids, i think theres plenty of opportunity for paedophiles to get their snaps... and do they? is there any evidence that perverts are taking their photos on the street? no, they do it behind closed doors... and post them on the internet... how is this law going to address those issues? simple, it isnt.

oh...and believe me, NO photographer worth the name will ever take a camera onto the beach... imagine sex on the beach... and a camera has many more working parts... i scrapped one camera 25 years ago..it will not happpen again.

and with the advent of digital imaging, you cant even depend on boots the chemist to stitich them up to the pervert police... like they did to jan levey the BBC newsreader.. who had taken snaps of HER OWN kids playing in the back garden...

i shall, of course get a licence if this happens, but what of all the millions of other snappers out there... will they? or will they just put the camera away?

some of our most celebrated photographers do their best work in the streets... Bill Brandt, Don McCullin, Sebastian Salgardo... even lord litchfield and Bailey did it in the streets...

maybe the Govt dont want us taking photos so we cant record the shambolic decline of England under this pathetic knee jerk parliament.

and thanks Mr Sceptic... i was worried until i read your post... as i said pathetic knee jerk Overreaction... the product of a deluded mind...

Answer 5

This nonsense has gone way too far.

Last year, I was in a U.S. shopping mall with a Czech friend, and he wanted to take some photos of the Christmas decorations. I security guard came up to us and asked if we had permission to take photos! This is ludicrous.

You may not be familiar with Chicago history, but we used to have a huge department store called Marshall Fields. Every year hundreds of thousands of people would go there, see the decorations and the huge Christmas tree, and maybe have lunch in the Oak Room. Taking pictures was "de rigeur". Of course you would take fotos; you would want a keepsake of the occasion.

It's gotten to the point where we are afraid to do anything. In the U.S., a lot of parents won't even let their kids go out and play, even when they live in the "safe" suburbs. When I was growing up, we would leave the house early in the morning, and as long as we were back for dinner, our parents did not worry.

This idea that we need to "safeguard" our children to this absurd extent is utter nonsense. This idiocy is one of the reasons I just moved to Europe.

Answer 6

This is a nanny state gone mad.

People in government need to stop assuming that every second person is a paedophile and that although the age of innocence is long gone, this kind of legislation only helps to contribute to an already paranoid society.

Of course child protection is important, but so is a free society.

I have to say, when I'm out and about with my camera, sometimes I'm glad I'm female. And I think that's really sad, but a reflection of our times.

I really hope that someone sees sense and stops this legislation before it goes through.

Answer 7

I think you're talking nonsense. It will not be illegal to take photos of children in public, and there are no plans for this. It is just in the warped imagination of the paranoid.

If people with evil intent want to take pictures of children in the park or beach, they will. There are such things as concealed cameras and telephoto lenses. But people are overestimating any risk massively.

Worry about cars on the road, worry about parents and relatives.

In a typical year in the UK, over 600 children are killed on our roads, about 100 are killed by a parent, only 2 or 3 are killed by a stranger.

Let's get risks into proportion.

You are also making the assumption that someone who photographs a child wishes to harm a child. Where's the evidence for this?

EDIT:
You might like to go back and read the story properly. ONE councillor, in ONE council proposed a ban on photography in its parks. Nothing about beaches. This proposal was thrown out. Bit of a jump from that to "It will soon be illegal to take photographs in public", isn't it?

Answer 8

No, there are some discussions about giving photographers ID cards if they want to operate in public places.

As I like to wander around taking photographs, I am not particularly keen on the idea.

There is a petition on the Downing Street web site if you are opposed to the idea enough that you want to sign :

http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/Photography/

Answer 9

In swimming the ASA stopped the taking of photographs in the pools at all gala meeting unless you signed in to say who you are and who your child was then you were allowed to use your camera as the children were in swimming gear
this was inforce 1999 when peado was in its first public notice

Answer 10

Scaring people into paying for licenses or extra taxes and say it is to stop criminals is just too low.Does CCTV ask permission or get a license from the law abiding citizen to photograph, no.
Government overkill and bloat is reaching a boiling point of sanity.