4.9 Photographic Displays |
Contents
| 4.9.1 | Introduction |
| 4.9.2 | The Legal Position - Data Protection |
| 4.9.3 | Security and Negligence |
4.9.1 Introduction
Concern has been expressed about the practice in many Churches in England and Wales of displaying photographs of children and young people in Church, often for their First Communion, and with their names under the pictures.
This could allow any adult with access to the Church or other Church buildings to gain the trust of a child or young person simply on the basis of knowing their name, and thus places children at potential risk.
The issue has now been discussed at the National Working Group of Safeguarding Coordinators, and it was agreed that CSAS should issue this Guidance, following consultation with the Data Protection Commissioners.
4.9.2 The Legal Position - Data Protection
The Data Protection Commission has advised that photographs constitute "personal data" and processing of such data is subject to the requirements of the 1998 Data Protection Act.
It is not necessary to rely on consent for taking or displaying photographs in most circumstances. Processing of personal data should satisfy one of the conditions in Schedule 2 of the Data Protection Act, the most relevant for these purposes being that:
The processing is necessary for the purposes of legitimate interests pursued by the data controller or by the third party or parties to whom the data are disclosed, except where the processing is unwarranted in any particular case by reason of prejudice to the rights and freedoms or legitimate interests of the data subject.
However, a photograph constitutes "sensitive" personal data if it is possible to infer, for example, an individual's religious beliefs from that photograph (i.e. First Communion photographs).
It is therefore recommended that explicit written consent is always obtained from the parent and child where photographs are used, in order to comply with legal requirements laid out in Schedule 3 of the 1998 Data Protection Act. This states that one of the required conditions for processing sensitive data is that
The data subject has given his explicit consent to the processing of personal data.
(Consent Form Specimen attached; please note that the child or young person should sign where s/he is of an age to give "informed consent")
Please note that separate consent is required if data is placed on a website.
4.9.3 Security and Negligence
The Data Protection Commission also advises that the issue of the harm that could befall an individual if the data in question fell into the wrong hands must be taken into account.
This is based on Principle 7 of the Data Protection Act 1998, which states that:
Appropriate technical and organisational measures shall be taken against unauthorised or unlawful processing of personal data and against accidental loss or destruction of, or damage to, personal data.
There could also be claims relating to negligence should a child be placed at risk.
It has therefore been suggested that names should not appear with individual images, but a list placed beside the display.
However, it might still be possible to connect an individual's name and photograph, for example where a child is physically disabled, or the only girl/boy in the group, or the only child of African-Caribbean , Asian or Mediterranean origin and appearance. If, for example, you know that Mrs A has a child with a hearing aid, you could deduce from the photographs and the list that John A is the child with a hearing aid.
It is therefore necessary to be aware of these possibilities in reaching decisions about how photographic displays in Churches and Church buildings are labelled, if at all. A safe alternative would be that photograph displays are simply labelled "Class of 2009".End