A Sh1.8 million fine recently imposed by the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner on Casa Verde Lounge on Ngong Road has gotten people talking seriously about the ethics of photos and videos and invasion of privacy.
And it doesn’t have to be a nightclub but any public place.
Casa Vera ended up in this unfortunate situation by posting a reveller’s image on social media without his consent. As a swift way of covering themselves, similar establishments across Nairobi in other major towns have ended up issuing warnings to patrons in a very direct and open way, through notices at entry points of those ‘joints’.
In fact, they’ve even gone ahead to say, “Do not enter this establishment if you do not agree to them recording or taking a video of you.” Whether ‘sherehe’ patrons will agree to this new way of partying while being cautious, even discreet – and maybe even signing consent forms – will be interesting to see.
Will partygoers and others throw caution to the winds?
There’s a lot to think about – the powers vested in ODPC, the litigation cases that will follow and how much about ourselves we want the world to know.
Are we becoming too critical or are we as conscientious citizens becoming more mature in terms of ethical and lawful use of media materials, especially in public places? Other than clubs, where people let their hair down, other places to watch on social platforms would include public offices, schools, churches, amusement parks and museums, malls and shops, hospitals, buses, airports and train stations, open markets and public beaches, among others. The list goes on.
Most of those in charge of these public places, such as county governments, school management and even hospital management, have taken a very casual approach to the use of photos and videos of citizens, students and patients without their consent.
A more professional way of advertising goods and services would be to use commissioned models and influencers or advertising companies that come as a package, but establishments have to pay.
So many establishments that don’t know the law will use random material ‘innocently’ to create content. Little do they know there may be that one informed citizen, who ends up filing a suit against them, as is the case of Casa Vera.
One issue requiring urgent attention is the careless use of photos and videos of minors in public places without the consent of parents, guardians or chiefs to reach mutual agreement on image use enshrined in law.
The images could be taken by community-based organisations, civil society groups, NGOs, faith-based organisations, aid donors, trade organisations and others.
These organisations, created for the noble purposes of eradicating poverty, improving sanitation and health, promoting peace, providing donations towards education, people with special needs, among others, may one day find themselves in trouble for taking photos of minors at the grassroots level, without consent
It is imperative that ODPC keeps an eye on the use of minors in such content, as it may be against their human rights, whereby a child is entitled to special care and protection. Organisations also need to be informed to what extent they can use material for publicity, according to ODPC.
While some organisations use photos of children in dire situations for their Information Education Communication (IEC) materials, images of children in need end up on multiple media platforms, annual reports, fact sheets, calendars and posters, among others. They are then reprinted and circulated worldwide, and the use of the images of these children sometimes, though for a noble cause, goes out of control.