When Your Face Becomes Someone Else's Content

2 hours ago

I remember a time I was reluctantly scrolling through Facebook when I stumbled upon someone I know in the background of a video taken in a popular local market around me. The person actually wasn't the main focus of the video, but she was very visible and never knew she became part of the content of that stranger's video.

I had to pause and think of how many times my face has surfaced in a picture or video taken randomly by content creators without my knowledge.

I see how this era is turning a lot of people into content creators including me, and so smartphones are everywhere, and people are targeting pictures or videos that could attract traffic to their pages, so permit me to say that it's almost impossible to avoid this. If I should be sincere, I will confess that I have several times taken random pictures in the market which I use for my post, including the one I posted yesterday, without the consent of these people in my pictures. lol

The question, according to the prompt, is, should taking pictures or videos that capture strangers without their permission become a criminal offence? Well, I think this is somehow a sensitive issue and each side had a valid argument.

Personally, I will feel uncomfortable when I suddenly find my face trending in a video online which I never knew was taken. It will hurt me if the video in question is negative or being mocked; of course, I wouldn't want to be the topic of discussion without my permission. This era of our world, info spreads so quickly, and not everyone has a good motive for recording videos, just like the ones I do use here on Hive innocently to back up my post.

People record videos or take pictures with bad intentions, and for sure, privacy is important, including personal safety. However, if we should consider it a criminal offence to record people or take their pictures in public places, it might just create troubles added to the one we are facing as a society.

Come to think of it, some people rely on public recordings to tell their stories, so it seems unavoidable, and I don't think we should make it a crime offence; it's just fair not to use people's images negatively. I know I have attended different events and captured the moments, including many people, and used it for my content. Imagine visiting all those people to seek their consent? That's impossible.

Maybe a healthy boundary should be created rather than making it a crime; however, if someone intentionally records a person and use it for negative purpose , such as to humiliate the person, expose him or her, make her vulnerable and the like, that one could attract legal punishments.

Overall, I am of the opinion that laws should focus on those misusing other people's pictures and videos rather than making it a general crime for all creators.

*This is my response to the #hive learners prompt on the topic titled, YOUR FACE ALONE

Image was created using chatgpt