Re: Schneier, Data and Goliath: no hope for privacy

On 2025-02-19, D wrote:
On Tue, 18 Feb 2025, Eli the Bearded wrote:
In comp.misc, Computer Nerd Kev <not@telling.you.invalid> wrote:

 >>> Indeed, so long as you block all FB's scripts and images on
 >>> otherwise unrelated websites.  Although I don't tend to make close
 >>> friends so I don't need to worry about controlling their FB usage.

 >> Doesn't stop people from posting about you on FB.  (Or worse,
 >> posting photos of you on there.)

 > That's an absurd argument.  In no world, in no universe can you
 > reasonably expect people to not talk about you, think about you,
 > write about you, if they so choose.

Such worlds and universes are perhaps imaginable, but so far as
I can tell, they aren't ones we're living in.

 > Publishing photos and videos of you, without your consent, on the
 > other hand, is illegal, and can be punished severely.

I'm an amateur photographer myself, and this runs contrary to
what I know about relevant legislation.

My understanding is that, basically, there're two reasonable
grounds to object against photography:

* privacy; for example, photographying a person in a restroom
  without their explicit consent is likely to be deemed illegal
  (under "reasonable expectations of privacy");

* property; if an owner can decide who can or cannot enter,
  they can also decide who can or cannot photograph there.

Photographying a person in a public place, as a rule, will be
deemed legal, and so will be distributing the photographs.
About the only exception I can think of would be exploiting the
likeness of an /identifiable/ person for profit, such as using
a close-up of someone for an ad.  This applies to distribution
specifically, however, not to being allowed to take a photo.

Same goes for photographying someone's property /from/ a public
place, such as photographying someone's house from the street.

With regards to workplace, unless being photographed is part
of your contract, your employer may /request/ your photograph
(including for their webpage), but can't require you to provide
one.  (Though if they cannot issue you a company photo ID and
hence allow you to be on your assigned workplace during working
hours, well, tough luck.)  Said employer would have the right
to allow photography on the premises, but is ought to inform
the employees about this in advance, allowing those unwilling
to opt out from being photographed.

There's a relevant article on Wikipedia; and a web search
provides for further reading.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photography_and_the_law
http://duckduckgo.com/html/?kd=-1&q=photography+and+privacy+rights