A major function of PMH Foundation is sending
out media releases, updating Facebook, creating campaigns and generating
monthly newsletters. Pictures are an all important aspect if not a central part
of these functions.
With the laws and regulations on picture
taking PMH Foundation has to ensure consent is made by parents/patients before
these photos are published. An ethical
issue that has been raised is the loophole of taking pictures within a public
space, and if it is considered okay to use these pictures without consent.
It might be considered all right in the
eyes of the law, though would it be ethically acceptable to use these pictures
without informing the people within them?
As
they deal with this issue daily, every time a picture is taken we have to make
sure we ask for consent. Making the parent or guardian sign a consent form
after the picture is taken. Though this can be hard to regulate when pictures
are being taken at large and busy events.
Im my opinion it is important to act ethically responsible is every situation. If a child's photo was the central component of a media release or campaign, it would be paramount to get consent.
(Me with the other volunteers at the Stitches Bear Fair)
I found it helpful asking my internship what the rules and regulation were in regards to their picture sharing policy, just to cover myself when writing blogs or media releases.
Please let me know if you have encountered the same issues and how your placement deals with the use of pictures.
4 comments:
I have experiences similar issues within Amnesty as well, usually if the photo was taken in a public area were there are a lot of people in the background we have to blur them out, as we haven't received their permission.
Hi Nonny,
I'm glad you pointed this out. It reminded me of PR Law class, and how this is quite a contentious issue that falls in the grey area of law.
It's quite a tricky one; I agree with you that if the subject is the central component of the image and they are clearly identifiable, then their consent must be attained. In my opinion, however, bystanders in the background that are there just as a 'filler' and aren't the central component generally wouldn't need to sign a waiver (unless they are clearly identifiable or the image was being published in something controversial that could harm their reputation).
I recently found photos of myself and another intern on a few websites that we had not signed permission for. Due to the nature of the photos and why they were taken I was fine with it, but it still was quite shocking to find oneself plastered on the web!
I guess this matter really is one where it's generally better to be safe than sorry, and where one's own judgement should be capitalised on.
Thanks for your comments girls! Yeah it really is a tricky one. It is interesting to see you have both come across the same issues within the workplace. I wonder what would happen if there were tougher laws in place or the regulations got really strict. In this day and age photo sharing is everywhere, and becoming harder to control I think.
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