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Matthew Vella
A member of the audience in a Xarabank programme broadcast last year has sued presenter Peppi Azzopardi for damages, claiming she had not consented to the use of her visual image in a Xarabank advert.
Tracey Cuschieri filed the claim for damages last year against Azzopardi, claiming she had not been asked for her consent to use her image in an advert for the discussion programme.
Speaking to MaltaToday, Azzopardi said the woman had complained that her photograph was used in a promotional billboard. “We remove the billboard within an hour,” he said.
“Without entering into the merits of the case, I am surprised at why somebody accepts to speak publicly on a television programme watched by thousands in the first place. Does it mean that a public appearance of someone can never be reproduced on other media?”
Cuschieri said she had asked Azzopardi to be part of the programme’s audience, where she attended with another three friends. Azzopardi said Cuschieri appeared as an audience member of her own free will, “on a programme broadcast on national TV and watched by thousands, so it has to be considered that she consented to the publicity of her image.”
The contentious issue over data protection has not failed to confuse various institutions over the handling of visual images. Although there is no obligation at law for consent to be in writing, the Data Protection Commission advises schools to seek written consent from parents to photograph events featuring pupils.
According to the commission’s guidelines, the photographs can only be used where consent has been given, and made available to the students or their parents only for their personal use.
However, where visual images are taken for journalistic purposes to give publicity to a school event, the school is not required to obtain consent. In this case responsibility for processing rests with the journalists covering the event.
Additionally, the images can only be retained for a period not exceeding three years, unless these are selected to form part of the historical records of the school.
Data Protection Commissioner Paul Mifsud Cremona told MaltaToday the general public was encouraged to seek consultation with the commission before proceeding at law over such matters.
“We are trying to instil a culture over the obligations to seek consent for the use of certain visual images. In my personal opinion, if people attend a public gathering in which they expect to be filmed, the person has to ask itself whether it wants to be on television or not. If it’s obvious the person is going to be on television, there is no need for consent for the use of the image.”
mvella@mediatoday.com.mt
Links: www.dataprotection.gov.mt
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