Yes, It's Legal To 'Tag' Someone In A Photo On Facebook Without Permission
from the in-case-you-were-wondering dept
While I've heard the argument that in Europe, it's possible to use various privacy laws to demand that someone remove a photo or "tag" of the requester, in the US that's not the case (barring other circumstances that might require the removal). However, Evan Brown has the details on a custody case, in which a woman (the mother) sought to bar the use of a Facebook photo as evidence. The photo showed her drinking alcohol, which a psychologist claimed could interfere with medicine the woman was taking. The woman claimed that because anyone else on Facebook could upload photos and tag them with her name, she hadn't given permission, and thus the photos should not have been published. The court explained why this is meaningless:The court held that "[t]here is nothing within the law that requires [one's] permission when someone takes a picture and posts it on a Facebook page. There is nothing that requires [one's] permission when she [is] "tagged" or identified as a person in those pictures."Of course, it does seem that other issues could (and in some cases were) raised: including the accuracy of the photo, the proof that it was actually alcohol, etc. But simply protesting the use of the photo as evidence because it was uploaded/tagged by someone else appears to be a non-starter.
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Defamation?
After all, there is no 'proof' that she was drinking alcohol and the 'publication' of the photo could certainly be damaging on some levels. Here in Oz we do have certain limits on content of photos that are published, especially if they show someone in a less than flattering light (just leaving a rehab centre for instance).
Just wondering whether some ambulance chasers could come up with a new business model here...
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Re: Defamation?
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Re: Re: Defamation?
From http://4020.net/words/photorights.php, section titled "Limitations on photo rights"
So, yes, taking and publishing photos (and publishing has now been extended to posting on the internet) at least in NSW (and probably the other states as well) can land you on the receiving end of a defamation suit.
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Odd
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Well, that;'s the thing about booze...
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