German Court Orders Man To Destroy Naked Images of Ex-Partner (bbc.com)

AmiMoJo sends this report from the BBC: Germany's highest court has ordered a man to destroy intimate photos and videos of his ex-partner because they violate her right to privacy. The Federal Court said the man, a photographer, should no longer possess naked photos and sex tapes, even if he had no intention of sharing them. The woman had originally agreed to the images but this consent stopped when the relationship ended, the court said. Germany has some of the strictest privacy laws in Europe.

Comments

Are they all gone? Check the backups!!

[tonyyeb]

How would the court ever know if he has fully complied with the order?!

Re:Thats a ruling to keep the lawyers happy...

[Anonymous Coward]

Yep. Consent this; intimate that... this ruling is going to come back to bite a lot of people in the ass. And just wait until they try figuring out what the burden of proof is for "destroy."

Re:Seems pretty reasonable

[TWX]

Why does a photographer need proof of commercial compensation in order for a work to have aesthetic value?

If a work has aesthetic value and all participants at the time it was created agreed to its creation (arguably a form of verbal contract) then what gives any party, other than the photographer as the creator of the content, any special rights over the content? The subject might have rights to the content if used for public exhibition or commercial purposes, but I don't see any reason why the subject, if of legal age and in a position to consent to having an image taken, should have the right to revoke that consent at a later time such that it compels the artist in question to destroy their work.

I will say this much, lots of people are bloody stupid and don't understand that they absolutely should not consent to having photos taken of them in the nude or in sexual congress unless they've fully considered both the ramifications of how they feel about those pictures potentially being seen by absolutely everyone and how this could impact their lives down the road, but that's the choice of the subject that willfully puts themselves into that position.