Can you take a selfie in a store's fitting room? A lawyer explained what is allowed

Together with lawyer Darya Khatkevich, "Minskaya Prauda" looked into what Belarusian legislation says.

Which laws protect shoppers' right to take photos?

The lawyer immediately explained that from the perspective of legislation, the absolute majority of similar bans on photo and video recording in sales areas and fitting rooms lack sufficient legal justification for several reasons.

— The main mistake lies in attempting to equate a commercial establishment with an isolated private territory. According to publicly available and repeated explanations, sales areas, fitting rooms, shopping centers, and markets are public places, open for free access. By operating for an unlimited number of customers, a store effectively grants citizens free access to its premises," the lawyer noted.

The right of citizens 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 full, accurate, and timely information.

2. Access to publicly available information. According to Article 16 of the Law of the Republic of Belarus of November 10, 2008, No. 455-Z 'On Information, Informatization, and Protection of Information,' information about goods, price tags, assortment, and the general environment in commercial establishments belongs to publicly available information.

Based on the analysis of the aforementioned norms, it can be concluded that legislation does not contain a direct prohibition on conducting photo and video recording in commercial establishments. Thus, photographing an item of clothing itself does not imply gaining access to restricted information.

Store employees and security services often cite various arguments to justify a ban on photography.

— However, despite the fact that the Civil Code indeed grants the owner the right to dispose of their property, opening a commercial establishment for free access entails certain specifics in exercising this right. The store administration, in the event of a violation of an internal rule prohibiting photography, may politely ask the customer to leave the premises, and also explain the reasons for such a request," the lawyer noted.

Attempts by employees to classify the refusal to stop recording as "petty hooliganism" lack sufficient legal grounds, as the mere fact of photo or video recording in a store does not indicate a violation of public order. A violation of an internal store rule does not, by itself, constitute an administrative offense.

— It should be noted that this article examines 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, the key point is a correct understanding of the legal status of commercial establishment personnel. Sales assistants, administrators, and security staff are not officials of state bodies and are not endowed with corresponding state-authority powers.

Specifically, store employees do not have the right to:

1. Seize a mobile phone, camera, or other personal property of the customer. Such actions can be regarded as unlawful appropriation of someone else's property.

2. Force a customer to delete taken photos and video recordings. Store employees do not have the authority to demand the deletion of materials without a corresponding legal basis, specifically a decision from an authorized state body, provided that the rights of third parties are not affected.

3. Arbitrarily use physical force, detain, or search a citizen. Security staff do not have general authority to conduct personal searches or detain a customer. Such actions are permitted only if there are grounds provided by law and in the prescribed manner.

If store employees show 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 yourself towards other people.

Can you take selfies in a fitting room, and what to do if the store objects?

A fitting room has its own specifics. On the one hand, it is a space designed for trying on clothes, providing privacy to the customer. On the other hand, taking a picture of one's own reflection in the mirror (a selfie) for personal purposes, provided that other people are not captured in the frame without their consent, is not, in itself, unlawful.

— It is especially important to observe the condition that other people should not be captured in the frame without their consent. Otherwise, questions related to the protection of image rights, private life, and personal data may arise, especially if such photos or video recordings are later published online," the lawyer emphasized.

If a disputed situation arises and the store administration demands that you stop recording, the most reasonable course of action would be to ask the employees to provide a legal justification for such a ban.

If the store refers to commercial secrets or private property rights, it is necessary to consider that such references in themselves are not a sufficient basis for establishing an absolute ban on any photo or video recording in a commercial establishment.

Furthermore, the customer 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 customer considers illegal, they can make an appropriate entry, outlining the circumstances of the incident and their claims.

— Thus, a customer has the right to photograph themselves and the items they are trying on in a 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," summarized lawyer Khatkevich.

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