on youtube I watched a British reality show about airports and (mostly foreign) passengers being searched for anything illegal.

What I find troubling is that many of these passengers speak very little English and find it difficult to articulate an answer to what officers ask in English. I remember an Indian national who didn’t speak any English that though he had the right visa to work in the UK, only to find he had been duped by an Indian scammer and was refused entry. He started crying and the crew filmed the whole scene.

This is humiliating to say the least and I wouldn’t want this to happen to me if I visit the UK. My questions:

  • Should a reality crew start recording me, do I have a right to my image and can I tell them to stop recording me? Do tv crews respect that?

  • What about the police? Can they record my face, even if I don’t consent?

  • I also have a cultural question: If an officer at a British airport asks you if he can search your luggage and you say no and you ask him if you are under arrest, what happens then?

  • snacks@feddit.ukEnglish
    1·
    1 year ago

    the rule is, the production company has to have your express permission if you directly talk to the camera or are featured in the footage. If you are in public and part of the crowd you cant ask for removal unless theres a good reason like court cases or something. You have to sign a form if you are more than just a person passing.

    heathrow in particular is interesting because nearly all large airports are public owned and heathrow is private. This is important because the production company has permission to film from the owners, and so as a customer you are on their premises and subject to their terms of entry, one of which is being filmed as a member of the public. If the production company does interview you or features you (not just a passing person) and do not have permission there have been many cases where the program has been held from broadcast until the matter is resolved. If you think you need to ask them the company and names of production staff are on the credits of the show.

    I know of one case with a prank tv show where the company pranked an estate agent by blowing up the house, and he got PTSD. The episode was never broadcast because he refused to sign the release, and sued the company for a serious amount of money. But the basic release form meant the company couldnt pass through the broadcast regulations.

    In public there are a few restrictions but basically its public land like a street and not expected to be empty of people. You cant film wembley arch because its licenced to the FA rather than the local council.