Photographs of fans: An addition to Fanlore's Image Policy

[fanloremod]

Thank you to everyone who has submitted feedback on the proposed addition to our Image Policy regarding photographs of fans on Fanlore.

 

Because we have already received a great deal of feedback on the draft policy, we have taken the decision to close the comments in order to get to work on revising this policy.

 

We realise that the original proposed text of the policy would not have been at all sufficient to protect fans' privacy and identity in the online world that we live in, and that this disappointed and alarmed many people. We fully acknowledge that it was not in line with what fandom would have expected from Fanlore and our commitment to protecting fans' identities, and we sincerely apologise for this. We will take all of the concerns expressed on board and work to produce a policy that is much more robust in protecting fans as we carry out our mission of documenting fandom.

 

Thank you again to everyone who took the time to respond to this proposal.

Original policy text:

Can I upload photos of fans to Fanlore?

Please be thoughtful when uploading photos of fans. Is this your own photo or one you found online or in a magazine? If you know the person in the photo, check with them about how they feel about their photo being used, or how they feel about a photo of themselves being uploaded. If a fan has passed on, reach out to their family or friends.

If you do not know them personally, then consider the context where the photo was taken and how widely it was distributed. Has it already been posted online? Was this a large public convention or small private event? Was this published in a fanzine, newsletter, newspaper or magazine? Consider whether the photo is being used to document a group activity or being used to identify a specific person.

If you are concerned about identifying individuals, one option is to upload a smaller or lower-resolution photo, or elect to not identify specific people (refer to them as "a fan" or "fans") unless it is necessary for the photo's purpose. Also, please keep Fanlore's Fair Use Policy in mind when uploading images you do not own.

If you would like to get more guidance on a photo you are planning to upload, please contact the Fanlore Committee, selecting the subject 'Editing help' from the menu. If you are concerned about a photograph on Fanlore that features you, please use the contact form to get in touch, selecting the subject 'Identity Protection' from the menu.

Linking to photos, as long as the photograph is public, is permitted and can be an alternative if you are unsure about uploading a photograph to Fanlore.

Comments

[myrdschaem]

As other noted, this is not a good idea. Ask permission first should be used as a standard and for cosplay or different fanwork photos, if people can't be reached, there should be a norm on how to anonymise. Fans in Japan and other East Asian countries have informal etiquettes of blurring faces that could be a template.

This also conflicts with international laws such as the German "right to your own image" and other privacy laws. Making the picture distribution opt-out is possible something that would violate these laws, that even be punished with a prison sentence.

Someone familiar with German and EU laws should look this over and other privacy protection laws around the world should be considered in the overhaul of this policy.

[larissabernstein]

Yes, blurring the faces or putting a big sticker on top (I've seen this done by fans from Japan) would be an easy solution for group shots. The easiest would be to refrain from posting fan photos at all, of course, but it seems Fanlore has made up its mind there.

As for the laws:
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recht_am_eigenen_Bild_(Österreich)
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recht_am_eigenen_Bild_(Deutschland)

Two examples how the right to one's own image is protected. Most European countries handle that similarly. If I am in a big group in a decidedly public setting or, for example, I'm one of a handful of anonymous tourists next to a public monument or landmark, things are different, but fannish conventions are often private spaces, and the pics that we are talking about are taken specifically of the people depicted, not of the architecture, so uploading photos without consent of the depicted can lead to lawsuits. I, for once, WOULD SUE.

[myrdschaem]

Other identifying marks are subject to the law as well, from what I saw online. Things like unique tattoos should also be blurred. I imagine this is less of an issue in Japan, since tattoos are often banned due to the Yakuza connection.

[vaznetti]

It's really good to know that there is already a pre-existing etiquette elsewhere in fandom on how to anonymise images, and it strikes me that we in western media fandoms might easily adopt it, rather than having to reinvent the wheel!

I wonder, since this post is clearly an attempt to form a policy for Fanlore, whether they might adopt it formally?

[fanloremod]

Thank you for your input. We realise that the original proposed text of the policy would not have been at all sufficient to protect fans' privacy and identity. We fully acknowledge that it was not in line with what fandom would have expected from Fanlore and our commitment to protecting fans' identities, and we sincerely apologise for this.

We will take all of the concerns expressed on board and work to produce a policy that is much more robust in protecting fans, and will share the next version for feedback as soon as we are able.