Are you allowed to expose your robber on YouTube?

Nowadays all sorts of clips appear on YouTube, from wacky home videos to playback shows. But lately also clips of robbers and burglars appear online. Surveillance cameras at people’s houses or at shops make these images. Is it allowed to put these clips of people online or does privacy law protect them?

There is still confusion about the consequences. Is it allowed to put photos or film clips of burglars and robbers online? This is what lawyer Rob Oude Breuil from Enschede wants to clarify. That’s why he wants to commence a test case trail. Oude Breuil requested the help of the Dutch Data Protection Authority (Dutch DPA).

The law concerning surveillance cameras is severely tightened. You're only allowed to film people if they are made aware that they are being filmed. But that doesn’t mean you can put it the clip online, only that you’re allowed to film. So following that line of reasoning, a burglar or robber needs to be made aware that he is filmed. Violation of privacy rights appears to have priority above protection of property rights. Whether or not this is a good development is still the question.

The robbers aren’t considering the privacy of the people who they are robbing, so why should the victims consider their privacy. Perhaps the legislator should be thinking of restricting privacy rights of criminals, when they are violating privacy rights of others. ‘What you do not want done to yourself, do not do that to others’.

Sources:
"Criminelen winnen terrein in Nederland, dankzij onze (CBP) wetgeving"
Proefproces filmpjes YouTube

By: Karen Groen