uk goverment to restrict photography in public places

[blanka]

hey dudes

dunno if this has been posted before, but in his quest to make the uk into some wack sci-fi film police state, tony and his chums are proposing to restrict photography in public places unless you have a some form of id card

what kind of card and the details are sketchy to say the least

here is a e-petition. Im not sure the gov take any notice of this, and i have a feeling they are going to round up all the complainers and ship them off to some island like in escape from new-york, leaving all the "good citizens" to enjoy freedom.
http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/Photography/

and here is an article with a bit more info
http://www.spiked-online.com/index.php? ... icle/2878/

this would have a terrible effect on my work and im sure others who shoot in the uk as well if its on the cards (still cant find any solid evidence of this but alot of rumour and speculation)

take it easy

bob

[david]

so sad.

I remember being in london a few months before the bombs in the underground. I took some photographs there, I bet it's much harder to do it now.

I really wanted to sign the petition, but it's british citizens only and I'm not sure I am.

david

[Angus]

at the moment in the UK everyone has the right by law to photograph anything that they see in public.

If that right is to be eroded then it will be a sad day indeed.

Things have changed, I know it is hard to practise "street photography" because of the paranoid parents who assume you're a paedo, and the unpleasantly rude people who just don't want their picture taken - but instead of merely turning their backs to the camera the see a need to shout abuse or even make physical threats. It seems any camera bigger than pocket sized is a reason for suspicion these days.

Sadly these petitions do nothing.

I signed two petitions that the Prime Minister deemed big enough to respond to (the road pricing and ID card petitions). in both cases I was eventually sent an email patiently telling me that while the PM appreciates the signatures, I am wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong and he's going to go ahead and do his thing anyway.

But to discuss that further would be too political.

I do suggest we all sign the petition - at least those of us who are UK residents.

[studiocarter]

Now if they would restrict DRINKING some in public places ...

[Old Uncle Barry]

That means almost 100% of the population will have to have some form of ID to take a piccy.BOLLOCKS-Its just another tax em till they squeal idea from this useless administration.

Forget '1984'- BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING US :twisted: :twisted: :twisted:

[Angus]

Its probably another way to force us to take on the "voluntary" ID cards.

I've already told phoney Tony that I'll go to jail before I carry an ID card in this country....so I expect the cops to be calling for me soon...

[fogo]

Sorry Bob but it sounds to me like you are the one who is being sketchy here. I say give us some sources, or otherwise ur posts might be interpreted by some as being needlessly political and off topic...

[Superbus_]

I think the proposer of this amendment cannot understand the fact that almost everybody (even children) owning mobile phones capable to take hundreds of pictures.

[timdrage]

Yeah a few more details/proof would be nice.

Not to say it'd surprise me in the least... I mean, it's already ILLEGAL TO PROTEST WITHIN A MILE OF PARLIMENT!?! 8O

Clearly they'd like normal people to be unable to do anything as dangerous as document reality, be creative, etc... But of course they increasingly want to take pictures of us at every opportunity. Here in london I've started to see quite a lot of CCTV vans just driving around with tall camera masts sticking out, weird stuff.

almost everybody (even children) owning mobile phones capable to take hundreds of pictures.

Yep, and fortuately this sort of cat which cannot be put back in the bag will win out in the end...

[Muckymuck]

The problem here seems to be that officials don't know the law themselves. There is no law in the UK against taking photos in a public place and any official who attempts to confiscate cameras/ delete pictures is themselves breaking the law. In the AP link there is a Home Office source quoted as saying there are no plans to do what the petitioner is petitioning against, so where is the source?

Over the weekend myself and three friends (in all two male, two female- all in our 20s) were shooting both stills and Super 8 in London, including pointing large zoom lenses into crowds to take candid pictures of people. Not one person objected to us all day.

I think it is about perception- we were a mixed group of "normal-looking" people shooting with what are clearly film SLRs. I think a lone old man with a digital camera may have had a different reaction from their subjects as he may fit the stereotype of the pervert.

What is more, we photographed an anti-war protest in full swing with no restrictions on free speech. Despite news stories (and without expressing a view on the war as I think this is irrelevant here), this weekend in London, it appeared to me that freedom reigned supreme in Britain.

PS even if it is technically illegal to protest within a mile of parliament, on saturday people did and the police did not stop them. What is more, that permanent protest display is there on the lawn outside Westminster still. I SAW IT WITH MY OWN EYES.

[fogo]

Actually Tim, and perhaps laughably, protesting within 1km of Parliament is not illegal....it is unauthorized protest within a 1km radius that is asserted by the legislation as being illegal...there is a difference..and indeed, instead of this thread being about a guy called Bob who lives in Brighton and whose Super 8 studio and home processing shop was broken into and wrecked or his camera equipment stolen by individuals KNOWN to be in the employ of state agencies, we get this nonsense....and yet the accusations of living in a police state continue..To those inclined to think this way, perhaps your fertile imaginations would be more properly served by doing them some justice with a decent screenplay exploring these themes or at least some filmshooting..

[blanka]

Sorry Bob but it sounds to me like you are the one who is being sketchy here. I say give us some sources, or otherwise ur posts might be interpreted by some as being needlessly political and off topic...

hey man, dont call me sketchy, ya cheese doodle.

i jest

the thing that i was saying was sketchy was the background info on this,
i did say at the end of the post that i could not find any solid evidence, so i was still of an open mind

if you have taken a look at the second link, that article implied that there is no bill in the offing, and after a bit of digging once i had the time, i found the guy who started the petitions site

http://www.phooto.co.uk/rights.shtml

seems like there aint no bill in the offing after all, but the issues it rases are still interesting though

im not seeking to mislead anyone with needlessly political and off topic posts, just presenting something that passed by me this morning that if true would have a massive effect on alot of people who shoot super8

anyone who thinks that the current uk gov is not capable of this sort of thing is mental, look around you and see your rights as a "citizen" slipping away.

Muckymuck: sounds like you had a nice day, only problem is if you dont fall into the "normal" section of the plod training, then, even if its very innocent, you will get your nuts squeezed by the man. I have had personal experience of this.

[blanka]

Actually Tim, and perhaps laughably, protesting within 1km of Parliament is not illegal....it is unauthorized protest within a 1km radius that is asserted by the legislation as being illegal...there is a difference..and indeed, instead of this thread being about a guy called Bob who lives in Brighton and whose Super 8 studio and home processing shop was broken into and wrecked or his camera equipment stolen by individuals KNOWN to be in the employ of state agencies, we get this nonsense....and yet the accusations of living in a police state continue..To those inclined to think this way, perhaps your fertile imaginations would be more properly served by doing them some justice with a decent screenplay exploring these themes or at least some filmshooting..

dont get personal, and please dont belittle me, lets play nice

actually, the way you dismissed me makes me feel like you have been in or have had close contact with the police before, are you "the man" everybody writes songs about?

[timdrage]

Actually Tim, and perhaps laughably, protesting within 1km of Parliament is not illegal....it is unauthorized protest within a 1km radius that is asserted by the legislation as being illegal...

I am aware of that, but protest that can only take place with the permission of the authorities protested against is not protest in any meaningful sense of the word. It's totally absurd, and pathetic that we're supposed to take such nonsense seriously.

What is more, that permanent protest display is there on the lawn outside Westminster still. I SAW IT WITH MY OWN EYES.

Well there are ongoing legal battles over that and I suspect that Brian Haw's continuous protest was at least part of the reason they cooked up this bill in the first place.

Mark Thomas has been uh... protesting against this stuff by encouraging lots of people to individually apply for permission to protest, which is a pretty amusing idea: http://www.markthomasinfo.com/demo/

and indeed, instead of this thread being about a guy called Bob who lives in Brighton and whose Super 8 studio and home processing shop was broken into and wrecked or his camera equipment stolen by individuals KNOWN

What are you on about?

[Patrick]

I can't speak for the UK but already things are starting to get quite serious (and ridiculous) in Australia concerning photography in public places. Apparently, in NSW photography has been banned on beaches. I remember watching a tv news story about this law being proposed and I thought it was so ridiculous and I had my doubts that it would ever go through legislation - sadly it has - I just hope this law doesn’t pass on to my state.

There is also a law being proposed here that bans the photographing of children in public places. And yes - that actually means that parents will not be able to photograph their own kids outside of their home! There are some organisations that hold sporting activities for kids on beaches that are already upholding this 'law'. There have been cases of parents attending these events and being told off when they raise a camera to their eye in an attempt to photograph their child. And some of these parents are furious and argue with the reps.

There is a shopping center in my state that has a list of banned items outside the front door and on that list it includes 'cameras' - unbelievable!