A woman in Nanshan District, Shenzhen City, Guangdong Province was photographed by a man after wearing fitness clothes and going to KTV with friends. After the woman found out that she was photographed, she negotiated with the man who photographed her and asked the other party to delete the photo. But the man who took the candid photos not only refused to delete the photos, but also arrogantly said, "This is a public place, I can take photos if I want to", "Isn't it disgusting for you to dress like this?" And "Let others see you dressed like this". Later, the woman had no choice but to call the police.
Second, legal issues and analysis
It is often seen in the news that men sneak shots of girls in public places. Is it legal to take pictures of men? Is it really like the man said, "This is a public place, so you can shoot if you want?"? Of course not! The man's sneak shot has actually constituted an illegal infringement. Today, let's discuss the specific illegal situation of the man and the way to protect the rights of the woman who was photographed.
First of all, the man took pictures without the woman's consent, which violated her portrait right. Although according to Article 100 of the General Principles of Civil Law, there are two elements that constitute an infringement of citizens' portrait rights: one is to use citizens' portraits without their consent, and the other is to use them for profit. However, in the trial practice, the court has not limited the infringement of portrait rights to the use for profit for a long time. The use of citizens' portraits for non-profit purposes also constitutes an infringement of citizens' portrait rights. This is also reflected in the later provisions of the General Principles of Civil Law and the Civil Code on portrait rights.
Article 1 10 of the General Principles of Civil Law stipulates that natural persons enjoy the rights of life, body, health, name, portrait, reputation, honor, privacy and marital autonomy. The General Principles of Civil Law does not regard profit as an important element of infringing citizens' portrait rights. Article 10 19 of the Civil Code, which will come into effect soon, stipulates that portraits shall not be made, used or made public without the consent of the owner. In other words, without the consent of the portrait owner, others can't even make the portrait of the portrait owner, let alone use it. In this case, the man secretly photographed the woman without her consent and made her portrait without authorization, which constituted an infringement of her portrait right.
Secondly, the man used insulting language to insult the woman, which constituted an infringement of the woman's reputation right. According to Article 10 1 of the General Principles of the Civil Law, citizens and legal persons enjoy the right of reputation, and their personal dignity is protected by law. It is forbidden to damage the reputation of citizens and legal persons by insulting or slandering. Article 1024 of the Civil Code, which will come into effect soon, stipulates that the civil subject enjoys the right of reputation. No organization or individual may infringe upon the reputation right of others by insulting or slandering. Reputation is a social evaluation of the moral character, reputation, talent and credit of civil subjects.
In this case, the man frequently used insulting language to insult the woman, such as are you dressed like this? Are you dressed like this to let others see you? Are you afraid that others will see you dressed like this? Dare to take your picture when you are naked? This damaged the woman's reputation and violated her right to reputation.
Finally, in the face of the man's infringement, how should the woman defend her rights? According to the relevant provisions of Tort Liability Law and previous trial practice, in such cases, the infringer can ask the infringed person to delete the photos and publicly apologize. If it causes great mental pain to the infringer, it may also claim compensation for mental damage from the infringer. Therefore, women involved can take up legal weapons to safeguard their legitimate rights and interests. Only when everyone learns to defend their rights with legal weapons can we effectively combat the arrogance of the men involved and create a civilized public order in public places.