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Photographers Rights And The Law In The UK - the law and photography
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PHOTO RIGHTS
People, privacy & children
Photographing Buildings
Tube and railway stations
Trespass/Obstruction etc
Deleting images
'Anti Terrorism' measures
Photographing the police (Sect. 76)

RESOURCES
Your rights on arrest
News, case studies & links
Photographing protests
Police statements on photography
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Photographers Rights And The Law In The UK
A guide for UK photographers.
(©urban75, updated December 2009)

Despite the law being clear on a citizen's rights to freely take pictures in public places (with a few restrictions) there is growing evidence of the police, police community support officers (PCSOs), security guards and general jobsworths failing to respect the rights of photographers going about their lawful business.

Following on from our article on UK photographers protesting about increasing police harassment, this feature hopes to outline your legal rights as a photographer, whether you're taking snaps on a mobile phone camera or wielding a monster Nikon about.

We've posted pages about the common issues (see links on the left), but bear in mind that this is intended purely as a rough outline of your rights and not a definitive legal statement.

Some aspects of the law can be complex, changing and open to interpretation - with Scottish law sometimes carrying a different spin on clauses - so always seek proper legal advice if you get into trouble.

UPDATES:

external link Can I ignore a section 44 stop and search? (Guardian Feb 2010)
external link I'm a Photographer, Not a Terrorist! (Photo protest Jan 2010)
external link Home Office advises Police to break the law (Register Jan 2010)
external link Stop-and-search powers ruled illegal by European court (BBC Jan 2010)



Note: We're still building this section, so will be adding and refining the pages over time. Be sure to check out the news section for the latest reports.

Further discussion: You are welcome to discuss the issues on our bulletin boards Photographers rights in the UK: discussion. Please note that you will have to register to post comments (it is free).

Note: This article attempts to be a brief educational guide to the sometimes-complex matter of your rights as a photographer. It is not legal advice and we recommend seeking out proper legal advice if you encounter problems. Some material in this article has been sourced from the UK Photographers Rights website.


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