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Seen something “fun” that you want to share on social media? Best to double check the legal text.
– This goes down in the ages because a lot of people have a smartphone. It’s no longer possible to just shrug your shoulders and think “well, that’s only on Tiktok”, says lawyer Caroline Olstedt Carlström.
It has been a lot of time off and partying these days. Old and young have gathered and celebrated, photographed, filmed – and posted the content on social media. But what happens if the person in the picture doesn’t think the “funny” content is particularly funny? If someone wants the photo or video removed?
– It can be difficult to explain where the line is drawn, says Daniel Westman, a lawyer specializing in media law, and continues:
– It depends entirely on what it is about. If it is something caught at a private event or something that happens in a public place. Some things you just have to take.
Westman explains that ultimately it comes down to the balance between freedom of expression and personal privacy. Posting nude photos of someone without their consent is “obviously not okay”, but the same can apply to “party videos”, says Westman.
– The main rule is that you may film and record sound in a public place. At the same time, there is a conflict with data protection regulations. If it concerns private data, the GDPR applies, he says.
“Part of society”
Caroline Olstedt Carlström is a lawyer and chairman of the organization Forum for data protection, and she shares Daniel Westman’s view of a regulatory and legislative framework that involves gray areas. And at the same time raises a finger of warning that those gray areas can be extra difficult to navigate for young people.
– I have three teenage children at home, sometimes it is very distressing to see the content on these platforms. At the same time, the schools are starting to get better at managing and teaching. But parents must also take greater responsibility, she says and continues:
– The Internet is part of society today. The same regulations apply if I commit a criminal act. If I commit it online or out on the street, it is the same set of regulations.
“More is required”
Olstedt Carlström and Westman both mention the relatively new, 2018, crime of illegal invasion of privacy.
– It was fantastic that we got that legislation, and in theory it is good. But more is required in practice, says Olstedt Carlström.
In the text of the law, examples such as information about a person’s sex life, state of health or vulnerable situation are taken up as possible crimes. The penalty is a fine or imprisonment for a maximum of two years.
Olstedt Carlström mentions the high-profile case of influencer Margaux Dietz, who was reported to the police for illegal invasion of privacy after publishing a post in which an outcast man is in focus.
– Without commenting on the case itself, because I don’t know the details, you can say that if the man cannot be identified, it is rather a matter of judgement. And that is often where you end up with these questions. What is the intention? Is the material shared in a private sphere or distributed to everyone?
– The basic question you have to ask yourself is who am I filming or taking photos and where am I somewhere physically. Then, of course, the content also plays a role. And the intention. If I’m out filming when I’m walking my dog and upload it and you glimpse it in the background, then it’s not a question of GDPR, because there’s what’s called the privacy exception – the context is private, says Olstedt Carlström.
New rules
Daniel Westman emphasizes that the gray areas will have clearer boundaries with upcoming EU legislation that will come into effect in 2024. Then comes the Digital services act (DSA), which contains rules on how and when illegal material must be removed from the web and increased transparency about the digital the companies’ algorithms.
– A problem today is that it is difficult to contact actors, that it is a bit arbitrary when you feel that something has been spread that you do not want to be spread. There, more will be required going forward, says Westman.
TT has contacted Meta (Facebook, Instagram) and Tiktok and offered them to comment on the legal situation regarding social media. Meta refers to its internal rules, alarm functions and user agreement. Tiktok has not responded.
Facts
This is GDPR
The General Data Protection Regulation – in English “General Data Protection Regulation”, GDPR – was introduced on 25 May 2018 and replaced the previous Personal Data Act (PUL).
GDPR was introduced simultaneously in all EU countries to create a uniform and equivalent level for the protection of personal data within the EU.
The purpose of the regulation is to protect the fundamental rights and freedoms of the individual citizen, especially their right to protection of personal data.
The law covers all types of businesses and bodies that collect and store personal data.
Source: The Privacy Protection Authority
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