Can you take selfies in a store fitting room? A lawyer explained what is allowed
A Belarusian woman was forbidden from taking photos in a store fitting room. It all started with a regular trip to buy a winter jacket. In the morning, the girl popped into a store, hoping to find a suitable new item. But when she decided to take a few photos in the fitting room, she encountered a ban. Is permission now also required for a simple selfie in front of a mirror?
Photo: vecteezy.com
Together with lawyer Darya Khatkevich, "Minskaya Pravda" looked into what Belarusian legislation says.
What laws protect buyers' right to film?
The lawyer immediately explained that from a legislative point of view, the absolute majority of such bans on photo and video recording in retail areas and fitting rooms do not have sufficient legal justification for a number of reasons.
— The main mistake lies in attempting to equate a retail establishment with an isolated private territory. According to publicly available and repeated explanations, retail areas, fitting rooms, shopping centers, and markets belong to public places open for free access. By operating for an unlimited number of buyers, the store effectively grants citizens free access to its premises, — the lawyer noted.
Citizens' right to freely record their surroundings in public places is regulated by the following norms.
1. Freedom to seek and receive information. This right is enshrined in Article 34 of the Constitution of the Republic of Belarus, which guarantees citizens the right to seek, receive, store, and disseminate complete, accurate, and timely information.
2. Access to publicly available information. According to Article 16 of the Law of the Republic of Belarus dated November 10, 2008, No. 455-Z "On Information, Informatization, and Protection of Information," information about goods, price tags, assortment, and the general atmosphere in retail establishments belongs to publicly available information.
Based on the analysis of these norms, it can be concluded that the legislation does not contain a direct prohibition on conducting photo and video recording in retail establishments. Thus, photographing an item of clothing itself does not imply gaining access to restricted information.
Store employees and security services often provide various arguments to justify the ban on photography.
— However, despite the fact that the Civil Code indeed grants the owner the right to dispose of their property, opening a retail establishment for free access entails certain specifics in exercising this right. The store administration, in case of a violation of an internal rule prohibiting filming, may politely ask the buyer to leave the premises, and also explain the reasons for such a request, — the lawyer noted.
Attempts by employees to classify a refusal to stop filming as "petty hooliganism" lack sufficient legal grounds, as the mere fact of photo or video recording in a store does not indicate a breach of public order. A violation of an internal store rule in itself does not constitute an administrative offense.
— It should be noted that this article considers the case of ordinary photo and video recording that is not accompanied by a breach of public order or the use of recording for unlawful purposes, — said Darya Khatkevich.
In such situations, a key point is a correct understanding of the legal status of retail establishment personnel. Sellers, administrators, and security staff are not officials of state bodies and are not endowed with corresponding state-authority powers.
In particular, store employees do not have the right to:
1. Take away a mobile phone, camera, or other personal property of the buyer. Such actions may be regarded as unlawful appropriation of another's property.
2. Force the buyer to delete taken photographs and video recordings. Store employees do not have the authority to demand the deletion of materials without an appropriate legal basis, specifically a decision from an authorized state body, if the rights of third parties are not affected.
3. Arbitrarily use physical force, detain, or search a citizen. Security personnel do not have general powers to conduct searches of personal belongings or detain a buyer. Such actions are permitted only when there are grounds provided by law and in the established manner.
If store employees display aggression or grossly violate consumer rights, do not succumb to provocations. At the same time, it is important not to commit unlawful or aggressive actions towards other people yourself.
Can you take selfies in a fitting room and what to do if the store is against it?
A fitting room has its own specifics. On the one hand, it is a space designed for trying on clothes, ensuring buyer privacy. On the other hand, photographing one's own reflection in the mirror (selfie) for personal purposes, if no other people are captured in the frame without their consent, is not in itself unlawful.
— It is especially important to observe the condition regarding the impermissibility of other people appearing in the frame without their consent. Otherwise, issues related to the protection of the right to image, private life, and personal data may arise, especially if such photographs or video recordings are later published online, — the lawyer emphasized.
If a contentious situation arises and the store administration demands to stop filming, the most reasonable step would be to ask the employees to provide legal justification for such a ban.
If the store refers to commercial secrets or the right of private property, it is necessary to consider that such references in themselves are not sufficient grounds for establishing an absolute ban on any photo and video recording in a retail establishment.
In addition, the buyer has the right to contact the administration with a demand to provide the Book of Comments and Suggestions. If the administration continues to insist on demands that the buyer considers illegal, they can make an appropriate entry, outlining the circumstances of the incident and their claims.
— Thus, a buyer has the right to photograph themselves and the items they are trying on in the fitting room for personal needs, provided that the rights of other people and legal requirements are observed. The mere fact of such recording should not automatically be considered an offense, — concluded lawyer Khatkevich.