New Photography Rules In Germany.

  I am heading off to Germany next month to attend my neices's wedding to a German national.  She works as a translator for a business where she translates German into American English.

It appears Europe will implement some new privacy regulations known as the GDPR or general data protection regulation.  It is new set of laws protecting digital items.

She sent out a quick e-mail warning us about parts of the new regulations that we must be aware of.  If we take a photo of anything with people in it, we either have to get their permission to show their faces if we want to post the pictures or we have to blur out their faces.  If the people are unidentifiable or are showing their backs, it is not a problem.

In addition, if you are a professional photographer who publishes the photos on their website, may do so if it is artistic but if you are not publishing the photos anywhere including your blog, or even facebook, it is not a problem.  I can see you thinking, oh I don't live there so I don't need to worry.  Apparently, this update moved jurisdiction to everywhere, not just within Europe.

The GDPR actually changes how data and personal information is being used. The big change is for  users to understand and know how their personal information is being collected and used.  No longer can a company provide pages of fine print, nor ask you to click a simple yes.  Companies must explain what personal data is being collected and precisely how it is being used.  It must all be spelled out.

Furthermore, consumers are now granted the right to check to see what data has been collected on them and to correct any and all mistakes and limit the way companies use the data.  These rules effect consumers in 28 countries even when the data is processed outside of Europe.  This means if someone requests any social media company to delete a photo and posted of a person as a minor, the company has to remove it and notify search engines that it has been deleted.

Although the rules are for Europe, many multinational countries are changing their rules because its easier to just change the rules for everyone than set up multiple sets of rules based on where people live. 

So keep this in mind, if you are heading off to one of those 28 European countries who use these new regulations when you take photographs.  It won't particularly effect me because I general take pictures of plants and such.  Even if I have people in my photographs, I tend to cut off heads or blur faces accidentally.