The public is free use, and everyone has a right to make videos and take pictures there as long as it does not affect other people who are using the public facilities. You can take all the pictures you want on the road, but as long as it won’t mean that I can’t use that road while you’re taking your pictures or making your videos, then we’re good and fine. Because the road belongs to all of us, we can all use it happily.
But then, when it comes to movies, it’s different. This is because movies usually require heavy machinery and studio equipment. Movies almost always have celebrities and activities that could pull crowds. So, when movies are shot in public, these machineries could cause traffic, the celebrities present would draw crowds, and these will hamper the movements of other people. That’s why such projects can only happen with the express permission of the government.
So, if I’m scrolling through TikTok one day and I find myself in someone’s video, taken without my knowledge, how will I react? Honestly, there are two ways this can go. Am I the focus of the video? Is the entire content of the video focused on me? Because then, it would mean that I’m a character in your little show, and I did not agree to that. It would also mean that you purposely targeted me, and my appearing on your video wasn’t by chance. It was calculated. I have a right to privacy, and such a creator could get sued.
And the other way this can go is quite the opposite. Maybe I simply walk through the video, just like an extra in a movie. The kind of characters no one really notices, but are important because they add a bit of realism to the shot. If it’s that one, then good and fine. I’d know for sure that appearing in your shot is only by coincidence, and besides, no one will recognize me unless they really know me.
So, this should not be criminalized. I get that we all have a right to privacy and there are people who avoid cameras like the plague, but the world probably has as many cameras as the number of humans alive. Everywhere you go, from restaurants to airports, to supermarkets to schools… There are cameras everywhere, recording what you do. Not all of them will hit the internet, but one day, something crazy might happen, and a disgruntled employee might leak the CCTV footage, along with your identity, online. It happens.
We all love our privacy, that’s why the press can chase you down on the road, shoving cameras in your face and asking you questions. But they won’t dare step even a toe into your compound, because then they’re trespassing. Once it stops being public and becomes private, boundaries go up, and you get to decide what exactly you want.
So, yeah, people should be allowed to be creative. If you appear on a random person’s video, good and fine. As long as your appearance there does not harm you in any way. If not, you’ll also be within your right to demand the video be taken down. The public belongs to us all.
With time, my stance may change, but for now, this is where I stand.
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