New law on pics, distribution and consent

[bcguy42 38594]

Let me preface this by stating I am totally against cyberbullying.

 

Listening to discussions about the law, I heard a lot about the onus being on the poster to prove that the subject of the image consented to the distribution.

 

That got me thinking about "best of" threads and blogs. Presumably the person reposting the image knows not with any degree of certainty under what circumstances the picture was taken and what consent was given. With that in mind what is the status of the reposter in this circumstance?

 

I don't foresee a massive police crackdown here. Just wondering. Plus, I suppose ot becomes one of those things The Crown can throw at you if you make it a practice to piss off authority.

[Guest S*rca****sid]

Let me preface this by stating I am totally against cyberbullying.

 

Listening to discussions about the law, I heard a lot about the onus being on the poster to prove that the subject of the image consented to the distribution.

 

That got me thinking about "best of" threads and blogs. Presumably the person reposting the image knows not with any degree of certainty under what circumstances the picture was taken and what consent was given. With that in mind what is the status of the reposter in this circumstance?

 

I don't foresee a massive police crackdown here. Just wondering. Plus, I suppose ot becomes one of those things The Crown can throw at you if you make it a practice to piss off authority.

I think you are combining two issues here. The first one is cyberbullying. That is more on the criminal side. It usually deals with one or more types of harassment online through social media. And in some cases, child porn charges may apply depending on the age of the victim.

The second issue is copyright infringement. This is where the onus is on the poster has the approval to post a photo. Under Canadian law, it is and always is with the photographer, Bill C-11. Even if they were hired by a company to shoot an ad campaign, the photographer owns the photo. Usually what happens, is the photographer will sign a licensing agreement or release for a fee. Recently there have been some lawsuits where a website, or news outlet had to pay out to a photographer for using their photos without permission. The settlement is based on a price per photo. Most of the time, the photographer will first ask to have the photos removed and most people comply.

Like most copyright issues, it's never an issue unless you're caught.