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?

  • losttourist@kbin.social
    1·
    1 year ago

    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?

    The police (and Border Force staff when you’re in a place under their jurisdiction) have the legal right to search you and your belongings, as long as they can justify the reason for that request. If you refuse to allow them to do that you will most likely be arrested and you will have your belongings confiscated and searched anyway.