Photographers’ Rights and the new UK Counter-Terrorism Act 2008
On February 16th, a new Counter-Terrorism Act will start being enforced in the UK. This Act is, to a certain extent, an amendment to the existing Terrorism Act of 2000.
One of the sections that most clearly affects photographers is section 76 of the new Counter-Terrorism Act:
Offences relating to information about members of armed forces etc
(1) After section 58 of the Terrorism Act 2000 (collection of information) insert—
“58A Eliciting, publishing or communicating information about members of armed forces etc
(1) A person commits an offence who—
(a) elicits or attempts to elicit information about an individual who is or has been—
(i) a member of Her Majesty’s forces,
(ii) a member of any of the intelligence services, or
(iii) a constable,
which is of a kind likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism, or
(b) publishes or communicates any such information.
(2) It is a defence for a person charged with an offence under this section to prove that they had a reasonable excuse for their action.
(3) A person guilty of an offence under this section is liable—
(a) on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 10 years or to a fine, or to both;
How this new law will affect UK photographers is still an open question and we’ll probably only start seeing reports some time after February 16th.
To help us with this discussion, we had Phill Price and Darren Hector, two London-based photographers who attended a meeting on February 4th that brought together members of the British Press Photographer’s Association, the British Journal of Photography and the Metropolitan Police.
Photographers' Rights and the new UK Counter-Terrorism Act 2008 [ 37:31 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
And if you’re in London, on February 16th in the morning (when this law starts to be enforced), a group of photographers is going to head on to the Scotland Yard’s HQ and… well… take photographs.
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Show Notes
Links
- London Calling Photographers site
- London Calling Photographers Law meeting
- Terrorism Act 2000 (interesting section 58)
- Counter-Terrorism Act 2008 (interesting section 76)
- Counter-Terrorism Bill clause 83 reminder – chilling effect on reporting or speculation about military or intelligence service or police personnel ?