Woman Sues TV Station For Featuring Her In A Film About Obesity
from the fat-chance dept
A UK woman is apparently suing a Croatian TV station for filming her walking in public and including the clip in a documentary about obesity. The woman never knew she was being filmed, and claims that this is "an attack on human dignity." The specific legal issues are pretty complex (it's in the UK, so it discusses the twists and turns of UK law on the issue), but it sounds like the right to privacy in such a case is hardly clear cut. Still, it does make you wonder what was really done wrong here. She was out in public, where anyone could see her -- and assuming the video accurately portrayed her and didn't change or distort the image, is it really an attack on her dignity? If so, would someone just looking at her in the street and thinking she's obese be an attack on her dignity? Where does that line fall?Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
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He doesn't have one, he's making crap up.
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Another example of idotic lawsuits.
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It's not an invasion of privacy - at least in the US
It's not illegal to film people in public. The blurred faces and back shots are more of a courtesy than a requirement.
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If you're uncomfortable with the way other people view you (in this case, yeah if you're featured in an obesity documentary, you're fat. Get over it.), don't get annoyed when someone expresses that opinion, especially if you're a visitor to a foreign country while doing so.
Having said that, the article discusses this woman being filmed while out in Zabreg and then featured on Croatian TV, so wouldn't it be Croatian law rather than UK law that applies here? The article discusses how UK law might view the case, but I don't think it's totally relevant here...
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Re: Posters 1 and 3
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you can be filmed by anyone at anytime
(unless its a child then you get hung for being a pedo)
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It would be illegal here...
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Re: It would be illegal here...
And there's the 'definition of commercial purpose' problem again.
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Re: It would be illegal here...
But seriously, if you're on foreign land you have to expect to live by their laws. I don't know how the law of *that* land applies to this but going by the uproar here I'm gonna guess that it's not in her favour.
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Charter of Fundamental Rights, Chapter 1, Article 1
"Human dignity is inviolable. It must be respected and protected."
The only question for the court is whether this footage is a violation of this woman's dignity.
Saying that it was filmed in a public place won't fly.
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Re: Charter of Fundamental Rights, Chapter 1, Article 1
> "Human dignity is inviolable.
Seems to me that if the charter defines dignity as inviolable, then it would be awful difficult to prove in court that one's dignity was violated. How does one go about violating something that is, by definition, inviolable?
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Re: Re: Re: Charter of Fundamental Rights, Chapter 1, Article 1
Apparently it's not. Your premise is flawed.
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would you please post a picture of yourself so that i can use it in a report i want to do on pedophiles? i'm not going to say that you're a pedo, i'm just want to put your picture with the report and then "let the viewer determine" if you fit the profile. i promise not to alter the picture to make you appear different. ok?
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I'd actually find it pretty amusing, but ok... If you hadn't noticed by now, there are plenty of people who like to insult me all the time. Why should it bother me what other people think?
People can get offended at any little thing. Should that be illegal?
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re
privacy law should reflect this.
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Why does it make sense to have a law to protect your privacy when you're not in private?
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Also, being obese is not objective. If you are at over a certain weight for your age, you are obese. It is a fact.
It's like someone filming me on the street, in a movie about people with dark hair, and taking offense to it. If you are embarrassed about being obese, then WORK OUT FATTIE!
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Re: poster 11 and 12
Also, to compare calling a person obese to calling a person a geek is erroneous. Geek is a sociatal label that has little to do with physical form. Geeks can be obese or skinny, tall or short. It is not a physical observation. It is a label that was originally designed to cause emotional anguish. Not so with obesity. The word was coined to lessen the impact, so as not to cause emotional anguish. Not only that, but it is a statement based solely on the physical and what can physically be proven. Finally, you must take into account the way the womans picture was used. It was not used as comedy or insult, but rather as educational. All these things considered, that woman is a fat ass.
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Re: Re: poster 11 and 12
You're flat-out wrong, dignity "must be respected and protected". If someone else offends your dignity, they have breached your human rights.
If your argument is sound, then "debasing and degrading treatment" is perfectly legal, and Abu Ghraib was only important if the detainees allowed themselves to be degraded?
You can say it's a big step from broadcasting footage of an obese woman to arrive at Abu Ghraib, but then we're talking about scale, not principle.
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Re: Re: Re: poster 11 and 12
That said, simply degrading someone is not illegal. Rude, but not illegal. If I call a whore a whore, it's degrading and rude, but it isn't illegal. If I state that an obese person is obese, they may be embarassed, but it doesn't change the fact that they are obese. It is not an assault on thier dignity, it is merely the truth.
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Public Ridicule
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Re: Public Ridicule
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Re: Public Ridicule
Pardon the pun, but some fat people should get thicker skin. Being fat is fixable, and actually can be remedied with a prescription these days.
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I lost 40 pounds when they sold those potato chips.
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http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1290331/kfc_girls_strip_down_to_bra_panties.html
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Re: Public Ridicule
Of course. There's no law against telling jokes in public and if she didn't like it she shouldn't have her fat ass out in public to begin with.
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Re: Fuchsia
So, by definition, dignity as mentioned in your charter literally cannot be assaulted or taken. It certainly cannot be taken by stating facts or by media presentations that state facts. In this case, the woman's actions may lessen her dignity, but nothing the documentary said or did could have. This isn't semantics, the definitions of words as pertain to legal matters is a very serious matter, as those laws can determine the fate of the people.
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Was there a tuba player following her around?
Also, unless they interviewed her, we have no way of knowing why she is fat.
Um no exercise and poor diet. Don't believe the thyroid crap. Only 1-2% of folks have that and it can be controlled by drugs and either the weight disappears or they are able to gain weight.
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There's gotta be more to this case ...
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Obese? or Just plain fat
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fat happens
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Re: fat happens
I'm just sayin'. Some people need a kick in the ass too. That's why my wife is a trainer. Its the best of all worlds. Its a solution that could also work for her!
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Re: Re: fat happens
She should get a wife?
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Lose Weight
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On a News Show...
Produced in a different country...
She's screamed Cha-Ching when she saw the tv show.
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Sue the Fatties
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Also, I think it is a little hypocritical for techdirt to criticize the UK for its invasions of privacy with regard to CCTV cameras everywhere, but then to say that in this case its okay. It seems like it should be one way or the other.
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She
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Sueing only corroborates her lazy character. Free money? yes please.
I personally am not fat at all.
@ coward
Go ahead. If pedo is an important word for you and you are behind a bookreport be my fucking guest. I'll be naming you as the ringleader & will gladly admit to any of your own personal depravities. Talk sure is cheap these days-asshole
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OK, where's the photo?
You can admit to whatever you want to, but if you want to actually accuse me of something you better have something to back it up.
I guess it must be since you go shooting off your mouth but still don't post the photo. All you do is open that filthy mouth of yours. Typical hypocrite.
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Re: 49
This woman was walking in a public place, where any stranger could see her. She was filmed, and the only difference is now complete strangers in other countries can see her. She was not derided, she was not castigated. Doccumentary was merely given on an easily reconisable and provable physical trait.
There was no insult given, even, and definately no attack on her dignity. Unless you are saying that her physical condition is in of itself an assault on her dignity. Then, of course, commenting on it would only add insult to injury. And if that is the case, then, as I pointed out before, she should be suing herself.
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No Pity
For those who are youngsters... wait until you're older. We'll see how many of you are still svelte.
For everyone else, a little compassion on this topic would make you a little bit human.
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Re: No Pity
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Unwanted publicity
Next step: sue the bastards!
Whoa! What's this?
News of the lawsuit went viral all over the internet!
Next step: Google the definition of "Streisand Effect".
Last step: Punch self in face, shoot self in foot.
Offtopic -- related:
Didn't see mommy kissing Santa Claus,
but I saw Barbra kissing Bush.
Someone ought to be sued.
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Hrm
Of course the knee jerk reaction would be to blame her for being obese to begin with, and assuming it's her fault. A lot of things contribute to obesity, not just overindulgence or gluttony. As a recovering obese person myself, I know it's not nearly as simple a problem as folks consider, especially in the US where we're constantly bombarded with marketing that tells us 1. We're ugly, fat, and inadequate. 2. We should consume, consume, consume. 3. Since we're ugly and fat and inadequate, we should spend lots of money to get better or we're just plain bad people. Add various chemical imbalances and psychological histories to this, and it's not really as clear-cut as some of us would think, especially those blessed with birdlike metabolisms, personal trainers, home gyms, or access to bariatric surgery.
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end of story
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C'mon she's right to be upset
E.g. "a documentary about ugly people". Or "fat wives". Or "homely teenage girls" featuring your daughter or sister. Of course, names withheld, the victim.. erg, subject is filmed in a public place.
If you have a right it doesn't mean it's OK to use it; there's plenty of situations that are perfectly legal yet highly unethical.
BTW I am not commenting on the legality - I don't know the law well enough.
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Croatia
It's almost a media pastime to film people out in public in Zagreb, people gravitate towards certain areas in the hopes of being caught on camera... to 'be seen' ..
I'd be very surprised if HTV even bothered responding to her, as the UK has no jurisdiction whatsoever..
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You might not like it, but...
If she doesn't like being identified as overweight (and, hey, guess what? everyone else who sees her identifies her as overweight as well), she should lose weight. As a parallel, I was underweight in high school. My solution: rather than whining about it, I went to the gym and put myself on a high-protein, high-carb diet.
Yes, she's allowed to be self-conscious, but she's not entitled to money for it.
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ahem...
PUT DOWN THE FORK!
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The solution
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She should not sue
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