EFF Blogathon

The Electronic Frontier Foundation is holding a blogathon and asks bloggers to talk about rights and freedoms for which they are actively fighting.

When I first saw the write-up for this event, I thought, “Oh, but I’m not really doing anything with any of these issues, even though I’m happy to discuss them, and have my opinions.” But then … then I got to thinking about it, and about the things that I do, and how these issues have affected my life, and I realized that I needed to share a bit about what it is to resist – to really resist, rather than to take up a cause, protest, and be all out there and in public with it.

I think that my reaction to the issue of rights and freedoms – to think that I’m not doing anything with those – is probably a common one. How many people consider the small lines they draw to be important?

I’m talking about ordinary people, doing ordinary little things to resist. This man is doing the sort of the type of thing I’m talking about, drawing a line and saying “No More,” and his attitude is right in line with my own feelings. If you haven’t heard about this guy, please read the article, as it’s a good piece. Basically this is a man who was assumed to be behaving inappropriately, and fought back when confronted – not in court, nor with fists, but by going to get someone in authority to back him up.

This story is small and probably only made the papers because the rights of children are involved, which makes it a sensational piece of journalism – but the incident reflects something deeply wrong with society, as well as something deeply right about the individual willing to resist the small indecencies. The larger issue – that of self-policing being far more aggressive and oppressive than policing by the government – is something, possibly, which can only be addressed by the small resistance rather than the large.

There will be no parade, no protest march, and probably no sweeping lawsuit to protect the right of a photographer to take pictures. There may be one or two court cases, I’m sure, but unless large numbers of individuals constantly resist the tide, the rest of us will be swept under by the tide of public disapproval and censure.

When someone tells me that I can’t take pictures, or when people give me narrow looks … I keep taking pictures. For me, the line has been drawn, and I will not back down. It’s minor, really – after all, I’m mostly taking pictures of flowers in the park, or of interesting signs – but it’s significant to me that I keep doing what I’m doing. My persevering may mean something someday, to someone else, someone who is taking more controversial pictures of things that need to be seen.

In the UK, the body of law most frequently quoted against photography (at least, most frequently quoted at me) is the Data Protection Act. If you’re a photographer, I suggest you read it and become familiar with the Journalism, Literature, and Art section (and the domestic purposes section, if you’re not feeling up to being a journalist or an artist), as it specifically states that we are exempt from huge portions of this act.

Should we carry a printout of the Data Protection Act, with the relevant sections highlighted? I’ve thought of it, and just might begin to do so. I’ll certainly not stop taking pictures … but what happens when I’m confronted? Do I turn over my camera? Do I allow someone to review my pictures, to search through my property without warrant?

Of course, the pictures on my laptop are fair game when going through a border – as is anything else electronic and unencrypted. That’s bothersome in principle, but the US Customs and Border Patrol aren’t trying to stop me from taking pictures – just trying to search my stuff without warrant, which is another worry, for another day (probably for that day when my laptop passes through a US Border again, by which time it may be encrypted). But these are worries for another day.

Photographers, keep taking pictures – and keep watching, observing, and documenting our world.

Blog-a-thon tag: EFF15

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