Photographs, videos or voice recordings that can identify people are personal data and need to be planned, produced, and managed with the University’s GDPR / Data Protection compliance in mind.
The University would need to rely on ‘legitimate’ interests for this type of photography, balancing against the rights of individuals by the steps described above. ‘Consent’ is often problematic in the context of the University taking photos or filming at events. You would need to collect 100% affirmative individual consent for the photos and be able to make provision for withdrawing that consent on request.
If you are taking photos of groups of people at an event, such as a graduation ceremony or open day, then you need to:
The University would need to rely on ‘consent’ in this particular circumstance of both the ‘data subject, ie child under 18’ and the parent or guardian.
Both parties would need to sign the form in advance of any filming or photography taking place.
You would need to collect 100% affirmative individual consent for the photos and be able to make provision for withdrawing that consent on request.
The Information Assurance Team can provide advice in both guidance and template form for requesting the consent. The consent form must include the following information:
The University needs to ensure that anyone who agrees to a captioned photo or interview fully understands how the image or footage will be used, especially if you wish to retain it for subsequent use in marketing of publications. For more formal captioned photos or interviews for publications you may wish to put a form together to agree the terms and use of the footage.
Individuals, or ‘data subjects’ in the language of the law, have a number of rights in regard to their data. These rights are not absolute but may allow an individual to:
If you receive a request like this in relation to your filming or photography, please contact the Data Protection Officer at dataprotectionofficer@essex.ac.uk