Something I've come to realise with many people with regard to the digital and online space is that we're well present but have little knowledge of some of the tenets that guide the space. This is especially with my part of the world. At least I can say that in particular with a level of certainty because I've seen the ignorance in this regard, and whether to blame the people or not remains another discourse. But then, this isn't an exclusive case.
People tend to be ignorant of many things when it comes to content and consent, and also the use of copyright materials. Though we seem to escape the issue, it would be painful to be unfortunate. So while people are hungry for content and content creators are equally eager to create content steadily to feed their hunger, the issue of consent and copyright shouldn't be overlooked. Of course, this isn't taken seriously in many places, and so the ignorance persists.
These content creators go about creating content in public spaces, and by implication, others get to appear in the content. Not many appreciate it, while it could mean nothing to others, as long as it doesn't harm them. People have the right to take pictures and make videos in places they want as long as it's a public space, not private. The concern however is when this content is solely capturing someone without their consent.
That's why I said that people need to understand and simultaneously not overlook the issue of consent and copyright, as the case may be. I wouldn't appreciate being solely and intentionally captured in content, be it picture or video without my consent. The lack of consent is a breach of my will and privacy. If it was unintentional, without actually meaning to capture me then that's a different discussion, which I won't have much concern about.
People should be able to decide what content they appear in or not. Being randomly captured isn't something many might still take, but not as much as being captured intentionally, with perhaps the person being the focus. Some people just want to live a life with little to no media visibility. They just want to have a private life both on and off social media, and so, capturing such people with an intentional effort is a breach of that life they chose and desire.
If you've noticed, I've been precisely using the word “intentional” because that's where the issue comes from. If you're in a public space, you can be certain that a certain content creator creating content might end up randomly capturing you as well. With the rise of content creation and content creators in our world today, it's a strong possibility. It crosses the line when that action is intentional and certainly an effort to capture someone without their consent.
So then, should there be a law against such an act? If there's a clearly stated out law against that and public enough for everyone to know, it could apply. Even if not that, it should be common knowledge that capturing someone without their permission isn't right. But then, this isn't mostly a serious concern. Consequently, this could affect content creators and the need for originality, but mostly those who choose to solely use others without their consent.
Image is AI generated.
