Filming people in public, country by country

Each page answers the same six questions for one country and links the primary source for every statement: the statute, the regulator's own guidance or a court decision. It is general information, not legal advice; the date each page was checked is on the page.

• BrazilFilming in public is not banned, but a person's image is a constitutional right; publishing a recognisable person for commercial purposes without consent is compensable, and children get extra protection.
• China (mainland)The Civil Code portrait right means making or publishing a recognisable person's image needs consent unless an exception applies; face data is sensitive under the PIPL, which exempts household use.
• FranceFilming in a public place is allowed; publishing a recognisable, singled-out person needs their consent under Article 9 Code civil, with exceptions for news, crowds and public figures.
• GermanyFilming in public is generally allowed; publishing a recognisable person usually needs consent under the KUG, with exceptions for public events, crowds and incidental bystanders.
• ItalyFilming in public is generally allowed; publishing a recognisable person needs consent under art. 96 of the copyright law unless a public-interest or public-event exception in art. 97 applies.
• JapanNo portrait-rights statute: courts weigh place, purpose and manner, so filming a street is usually tolerated but singling out and publishing a stranger can be a tort.
• NetherlandsFilming in public is generally allowed; publishing a recognisable person is judged under the portretrecht 'reasonable interest' test and, outside personal use, the GDPR.
• PolandFilming in public is not restricted; publishing a recognisable person needs permission under art. 81 copyright act, unless they are a public figure on duty or only a crowd detail.
• Saudi ArabiaPhotography in public is generally allowed, but the Anti-Cyber Crime Law punishes invading privacy with camera phones or defaming people, and the PDPL treats published videos as personal data.
• South KoreaCourts protect 초상권 (portrait rights) even in public, so filming or posting a recognisable stranger needs consent or a weighty reason; business filming falls under PIPA.
• SpainFilming in public is generally allowed; publishing a recognisable person usually needs consent under Ley Orgánica 1/1982 and data protection law, with exceptions for public figures and accessory images.
• TaiwanFilming in public is generally allowed and the data law exempts personal use and public-place footage, but publishing a recognisable person can breach their portrait right under the Civil Code.
• TurkeyNo general ban on filming in public, but faces are personal data under the KVKK; publishing a recognisable person without consent can breach civil law and Penal Code art. 134.
• UkraineFilming openly in the street or at public events is allowed because consent is presumed; publishing a recognisable person usually needs consent, and wartime rules restrict filming the military.
• United Arab EmiratesFilming strangers is risky: the Cybercrimes Law punishes photographing or publishing people without consent, in public or private, when done to invade privacy; accident victims and children get extra protection.
• United KingdomFilming in public is generally allowed; publishing identifiable people engages UK GDPR and the misuse-of-private-information tort, with a household exemption for purely personal use.
• United StatesFilming people in public is broadly protected by the First Amendment; audio recording, commercial use of a likeness and voyeuristic filming of intimate areas are regulated, and rules vary by state.

More countries follow as they are checked.

Whatever the rule where you film, blurring the faces you have no consent for is the simplest way to stay on the safe side before you post. Anonimo does it on your iPhone, without uploading the video.