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It has probably happened to all of us, who are members of Facebook, a scenario where you are minding your own business and a message comes up saying that you have been tagged in a photo.  This is a genuine friendly gesture on the part of someone but what if, heaven forbid, you are on a secret mission to buy a birthday present or are meeting a long lost relative and haven’t told the rest of your family, or simply you don’t like photographs of yourself being published.
There was a time when people opted in and out of photographs for the local or national newspaper because they did or did not want their photograph taken.  That right of non-inclusion in photographs seems to have disappeared over night with the arrival of social media. And just because everyone does it does not mean that it is right and part of a healthy developing society.  It has come to the point where a couple having an argument on the side of the street, could have this broadcast to a worldwide audience.
The freedom with which people can publish images of another person, on social media, is in stark contrast to the amount of work that needs to be done by television stations and newspapers.  In the making of a television documentary, all participants are required to sign a consent form before the film of them can be broadcast.  On the other hand a random passing cameraman or woman can take footage of a private event that happens in a public place and broadcast it without the consent of the participants.
There is a new Data Protection regulation passed last week by the European Union, and maybe this will contain some consolation for people who would prefer to live private lives, and be permitted to go about their business in a society which has due respect for their privacy.
·         Under the new regulation, users will have the right to demand that businesses send them all the information they have stored about them. Where requests to access data are “excessive or repetitive”, smaller companies will be allowed to charge a fee for providing access.
·         Citizens will also gain the so-called ‘right to be forgotten’. Businesses must comply with any demand by a customer for the erasure of their personal data when there are no legitimate grounds for retaining it. However the European Commission pointed out that this is not a right to re-write history: legitimate reasons to retain data include, for example, newspaper archives.
·         Explicit consent is also required for businesses wishing to process data. Organizations processing people’s data must provide standardized information policies to explain what they’re doing with it and why.
·         Businesses and organisations will be required to inform users, paying or not, about data breaches.
·         The new law would apply to all companies handling EU citizens’ data, whether they are based in the EU or not.
Joan Maguire is a Fellow of the Irish Computer society and runs Compucara on Dykegate Lane, Dingle , Where she provides courses on computers  for individuals and groups as well as a service answering questions about
technology. 066 91 52222 / This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.