General Data Protection Regulation is in force since May 2018. It harmonises the handling, storage and processing of personal data across the EU member states. It’s complex. If the concept of personal data includes the pictures of identifiable people, requirements of the GDPR apply, like erasure on request, explicit consent for use, etc. with a potential massive impact on photographers/photojournalists work.
Some Countries have adopted the national legislation to ensure that photographers and photojournalists can continue to work, other didn’t and the GDPR may override other existing regulations or event the freedom of press. Just imagine a speaker at an public event request removal because of privacy rights ….
And there is an additional risk: In some contries, (unaffected) 3rd-parties can send costed (magnitude: starting at around 800€) “cease and desist” letters if they find a violation – this became a lucrative business model in Germany and Austria.
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