Glossary A–ZLetter R
Right to one's own image
The right to one's own image protects people from having pictures of them distributed or shown in public without their agreement.
In Germany it is governed by the Art Copyright Act (KUG): under section 22, portraits may in principle only be distributed or publicly exhibited with the consent of the person depicted.
For screens, this means that photos and videos in which people can be recognised generally require consent before they are shown. This applies to team photos in the lobby, pictures from the company party in the break room or footage of customers in a shop. The law has exceptions, for example where people appear only incidentally next to a location, or for pictures of gatherings. Whether an exception applies depends on the individual case.
Data protection applies alongside the Art Copyright Act, because a photo of a recognisable person is personal data. For employees and children, the requirements for consent need particularly careful scrutiny. Operators should record consent in writing, state the purpose and duration of display and be able to remove images if someone withdraws consent. This glossary is not legal advice.