this post was submitted on 24 Feb 2026
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Apathy? Not at all. Its simply a matter of established law, in the USA anyway. I can't speak to the legal systems of the other 140+ countries on planet Earth.
Can you cite a law in the USA or in your own country where you have a right to privacy making photographing you simply standing in a public park an illegal act perpetrated by another person or government entity?
I'm not the other commenter, and it's not all encompassing, but I'll link this one here for DE https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recht_am_eigenen_Bild_(Deutschland)
Forgive the machine translation to English, but reading that shows the a very similar exception to privacy protection we have here in the USA
Here's one example:
"There are exceptions to events (demonstrations, general meetings, cultural events, etc.). Here, participants must expect to be photographed. This is about what is happening and not about the person itself. "
Most of the wiki article is talking specifically about copyright, which isn't the scope of what we're talking about. Publication of taken images is a different topic.
There's a difference between taking a picture of a person and taking a picture of scenery or event with a person in it in Germany.
It's a subtle but significant difference. And relevant when talking about do you have to expect for your picture to be taken. You may not care when your in the background or not identifiable but at the same time care when someone knows you and takes photography of you, or takes photos of you where you're the main focus of the image.
There's a distinction between whether they will be published or are for private use too.
With your comments I found additional German legal guidance that mostly matches what you said. It appears that Germany does indeed have a portion of privacy from someone intentionally walking up to you and taking your picture. I don't think this invalidates my original point because it doesn't appear that expectation of privacy extends to installed surveillance cameras in public.
However, I appreciate having a better understanding of German law. Thank you.
Regarding security cameras, you can't point your private security camera off your property. If you put it above your entrance, you can't point it to record the entire street.
Afaik anyway.
Parking spaces or business must visibly disclose that there's cameras, at least where they would not be generally expected. I'm not too sure about the specifics there though.