Meetup photo disgust

[Doglover321]

I’m the Organizer of a popular Meetup group and we recently had our large 1 Year Anniversary event in a local pub. Ahead of the event, I decided to post that we will have a group photo at 8pm for anyone who wants to, and then went around and reminded members just before 8pm that we’re about to take our group photo and they can be in it if they want. There were about 50 of us in attendance, but I specifically remember speaking to two new members and asking them if they want to be in the group photo, to which they responded that they absolutely did. They are pictured in the photo smiling and posing!

HOWEVER, one of these new members has two months later changed her mind and been ordering that the photo is deleted and taken down from all platforms - including Meetup itself, that she didn’t consent, etc.

Where do I stand on this, please?! Don’t tell me I’m going to get them to fill in photo consent forms going forward?!?!

Despite having a law degree, I’m still really unsure when it comes to this area, and confused by what she means when she says her marketing department have told her a pub is a private place and I needed consent?!

Have been ignoring messages for now. Hoping she’ll let go….

@ATWTMVTVFTV I’m afraid you’re wrong again. Doxing isn’t inherently illegal. Only in some very specific instances such as blackmail, fraud or harassment. Me revealing your name would not constitute that.

And you’re also wrong on the op being an organisation - she’s had a social media app to meet other people. She is not a business.

I have a LOT of GDPR experience and have been on a number of courses. I know what I’m talking about. It’s fine to have opinions but don’t assert untrue things as fact. Caveat it as your opinion perhaps?

well if you’ve been on a lot a course, we might have crossed paths. i also have a lot of GDPR experience, it’s my job. i’m not going to say more than that for obvious reasons

hahaha, really? Amazing. Then why have you got some of the basic facts wrong above? Genuine question. And if you believe I am wrong can you counter my points with facts rather than a ridiculous statement like this!

Doxing is not just about information it is about the weaponisation of information with malicious intent. If there is no malicious intent there is no crime of doxing - although other offences may pop up such as defamation if inaccurate additional information likely to damage a person’s reputation is also published or data theft if the information published was not in the public domain, Computer Misuse Act offences etc. it’s possible for one act to result in multiple offences. So things get complicated fast.

in terms of GDPR (now UK Data Protection Act 2018) it applies to organisations and individuals- with all sorts of exceptions of data for personal use - above all else it’s a person’s relationship to the data and the type of data which defines their responsibilities - data subject, data owner, data controller or data processor - and the limitations for which it is used are determined by the legal basis on which it was collected ( there are a choice of 6) - not all of which require the consent of the data subject.
As OP is an end user on an app with third party data storage and distribution arrangements not all UK not all EU it can be hard to work out what their legal obligation under GDPR is in relation to the data
What is clear is that any data subject has a right to erasure - when their data is tangled up with other people’s data this is usually done through redaction - no one can request an entire data set be deleted because they are mentioned in the data set.

All of this is a bloody long way of saying: blur that looney’s face because beyond that any other expectations are wild. And for extra cover maybe include a consent to photography in future invites. IMO probably not necessary strictly speaking but it’s a painless bit of extra insurance on the basis that there’s always one, right?

Well that’s one way to get out of being proven wrong - deleting every post you’ve put up!

Don't ignore her, just blur her face out and re-upload the photo. You don't know why she might want her face taken off the internet. I've known someone with a stalker and they don't always tell people that they have one because it's very troubling for them and makes it hard to trust. Just blur her picture and forget all the extraneous nonsense. Doesn't matter the reason really.

I'm in this group and the edits are very creative and hilarious!

www.facebook.com/share/g/1E9Ai7sWhm/?mibextid=K35XfP

Hi Doris, I fully understand how some people are insecure about how they look and I have every sympathy for your unfortunate face. You'll be pleased to know that I have covered it with an emoji. Best wishes.

It's not a private place! as pp's have said, the clue is in the name!
Think of other similar venues as an example
e.g. family taking photos in a restaurant that happens to capture other diners in the background
Theatre taking a photo of an audience giving standing ovation
Nightclub or gig venue posting videos of crowd screaming/dancing
Shop posting on their social media showing people queueing for sales to start
CCTV in a shop or high street

Nobody needs to ask for consent in any of these, and nobody can 'opt' out of potentially being filmed or what happens with the images/video after.

It is different to children opting out of school photos, or even adults opting out of work ones, because they could be used to potential identify the person - e.g. if a child is photographed with an X school jumper on someone could reasonably assume they'd be coming out of X school at 3pm on a Tuesday. But seeing Random Woman at a pub on one occasions is no indication of whether she goes there every day, or has only been once in her life.

Pub is a private place ? The clues in the name public house , blur her out and tell her not to stand in for future photos .

I had to ask for a photo taken of me to be removed from Facebook as it was a party political event and I’m obliged by my job to be politically neutral (think teacher, civil servant). They took a group shot without asking and then published it. They were very understanding when I asked for it to be deleted.

We have to be more thoughtful in the digital age. Maybe assume good intentions?

I disagree. I don’t want to be published when I’m just going about my private business (eg queuing for a shop). I’m very private, Why should I give up my privacy to have my image used by businesses for marketing and sales?

Companies do not have the right to use your image for commercial purposes without giving consent. Whether that’s a live music company or a shop.

none of these examples are using the individual's image for commercial purposes though?
e.g. Sky might make money from showing the football game but not from shots of the crowd
Same as the band, they might make money overall from selling the video, but not from the people in the audience singing along....
Same with CCTV etc - they aren't recording to make money but to reduce shoplifting/maintain security
you've got no rights to opt out of any of them. If you don't want to be filmed in 2024, don't go out in public.

and OP definitely isn't using the photo for that purpose

so your point is moot.

I think you’re dragging this out a bit. She’s asking you to remove it, not the pub or anywhere else it may be uploaded. It’s up to her to contact those places if she does want everyone else to remove it but for now she’s asking you to remove her from your copies and you’re ignoring her message. Not the best way forward. You’ve been given a really good group on facebook who can flawlessly edit her out. Job done. It really is this simple. You feelings about her motives are a separate issue. Just edit the pictures she asked you to and refuse to take any further pictures with her in them. It may well be a bit bonkers but that doesn’t justify drawing this out and ignoring her. She can change her mind at any time if she chooses and obviously has. Just edit it and move on.

This is exactly how I feel. I don't really get why anyone needs to be bringing up whether this woman has some sort of "right" to have her face blurred - why the hell not just do it?!

Well blur her face out if needs be, and make it clear that going forward it you don't want your image to be seen in a photo... don't pose for a photo?
The dramatics and attention seeking from people to be seen as 'special' is exhausting.

I get your point but it’s a bit more nuanced. You do not have a reasonable expectation of privacy under the law in a public place, so you are not actually giving up your right to privacy in these spaces because there is no right to privacy there. However, it is absolutely right that your image cannot be used for commercial purposes without your consent. Personally I loathe having my photo taken and consequently look peeved in every photo of me that exists! 😂

Would it be too much to take two photos, one for private memory of attendees and second for public sharing?

Second emoji (resist the urge to use a rude one 😁)

Easier to take one for public sharing and let everyone else take them for their own memories I think.

Thanks, but the examples you gave were being photographed in a queue outside a shop and at a gig.

These images are absolutely used for marketing, - eg social media advertising / brand awareness posts and videos. Anyway we’re splitting hairs and people clearly have a range of views on this.

FWIW, OP, I’d go with assuming your friend has a worthwhile reason and isn’t just being petty - and doing this simple request. The world is combative enough without making simple asks from friends a battle too.