What rules do paparazzi need to follow?

However, police in New York said the chase between the paparazzi and the couple Harry - Meghan was relatively short and there were no injuries, collisions or arrests.

What rules should photographers follow? Figure 1 — British Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle. Photo: Reuters

The incident has caused an international stir and evoked memories of Prince Harry's late mother, Princess Diana, who died in a car crash in 1997 after being chased by paparazzi.

Harry, the youngest son of King Charles, and his wife, Meghan Markle, have said media scrutiny was one of the reasons they stepped back from royal duties and moved to California in 2020.

In the US, they filed a lawsuit in July 2020, alleging that unnamed paparazzi used drones to take “illegal” photos of their son, Archie, at their California home when he was 14 months old. The couple reached a settlement with the prominent photo agency X17 in October 2020.

There are rules that paparazzi need to follow, and these rules vary from country to country, even from state to state in the US.

United Kingdom

In the UK, photographers can take photographs in all public places, including of people, as long as they do not harass them. The Protection from Harassment Act 1997 allows for prosecution if a photographer threatens, stalks, intimidates or causes distress to an individual.

In the immediate aftermath of Princess Diana's death, British news organisations set up an independent Press Standards Organisation, which agreed that journalists should not engage in threatening, harassing or persistent behaviour and should stand down if asked to do so.

There has also been an unwritten agreement between Buckingham Palace and the press not to publish pictures of the royal children since the death of Princess Diana.

America

Photographers can take pictures in all public places. New York does not have specific laws dealing with paparazzi. The First Amendment also protects the rights of journalists.

The state of California has enacted a number of laws aimed at protecting celebrities from harm since the death of Princess Diana.

A 2013 law states that taking photos of children can be considered harassment if the child's parent is a celebrity. Another law also prohibits reckless driving for the purpose of taking photos.

The state also passed a civil rights law banning the use of drones to take photos of private homes, which Harry and Meghan used to file a lawsuit against in 2020.

Following the Harry-Meghan incident, the New York Press Photographers Association issued a statement, condemning the paparazzi's actions as a violation of basic photojournalism principles.

Bruce Cotler, the association’s president, noted in an interview that there were mixed opinions on the incident, but he said photographers should act in a way that does not endanger others.

“The main principle in journalism is to report the news, not to become the news,” he emphasized.

Quoc Thien (according to Reuters)

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