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Filmer des personnes

Émirats arabes unis : peut-on filmer des personnes, et peut-on publier ?

Il s'agit d'informations générales, pas de conseils juridiques. Chaque affirmation renvoie à sa source primaire. Vérifié le 2026-10-17.

Cette page n'est pas encore traduite ; elle est affichée en anglais, la version vérifiée à partir des sources citées.

Filmer des inconnus est risqué : la loi sur la cybercriminalité punit le fait de photographier des personnes ou de publier leur image sans consentement, dans l'espace public comme privé, lorsque c'est fait pour porter atteinte à la vie privée ; les victimes d'accidents et les enfants bénéficient d'une protection renforcée.

Puis-je filmer des personnes dans l'espace public ?

There is no general right to film strangers in the UAE. The key rule is Article 44 of Federal Decree-Law No. 34 of 2021 (المرسوم بقانون اتحادي رقم 34 لسنة 2021 في شأن مكافحة الشائعات والجرائم الإلكترونية, the Law on Combatting Rumours and Cybercrimes). It punishes using a network, information system or IT device "with the intention of invading the privacy or sanctity of private or familial life of someone without his consent" by "taking photos of third parties in any public or private place, or preparing, transferring, disclosing, copying or keeping electronic photos": at least six months in prison and/or AED 150,000 to 500,000 (Art. 44, official translation). The law took effect on 2 January 2022 (u.ae).

"Any public or private place" means being in public is not by itself a defence. But the offence needs an intention to invade privacy, and whether a street video or crowd shot shows that is a question of fact; the statute does not carve out tourists or vloggers (Art. 44).

The Penal Code, Federal Decree-Law No. 31 of 2021 (قانون الجرائم والعقوبات, the Crimes and Penalties Law), is narrower: Article 431 punishes anyone who, without consent, "captures or transmits, by any device, a picture of a person in a private place" (Ministry of Justice, Arabic). Article 44(4) also lists taking, transmitting or publishing photos of "the injured, the dead, or the victims of accidents or disasters without permission or consent of the parties concerned" (Art. 44). Do not film accident scenes.

Puis-je publier la vidéo ?

Publishing adds its own offences. Article 44(3) punishes publishing "electronic photos, images, scenes, comments, data or information, even if it is true and genuine, with intention of harming the person"; truth is not a defence. Editing a clip to defame someone carries at least one year and/or AED 250,000 to 500,000, and online insult or defamation is a separate offence under Article 43 (Arts. 43-44). Article 68 lets the accused prove a settlement with the victim at any stage before the judgment becomes final (Art. 68).

Federal Decree-Law No. 55 of 2023 on media regulation covers media activities by individuals as well as companies, paid or free, and its content standards include "respecting privacy rules and individuals' private lives" (u.ae media regulation).

Federal Decree-Law No. 45 of 2021 (قانون حماية البيانات الشخصية, the Personal Data Protection Law), supervised by the UAE Data Office (u.ae), excludes government data, a data subject processing their own data for personal purposes, and free-zone companies with their own data laws (Article 2(2)); Article 4(2) allows processing of data the person has themselves made public (law text, Arabic).

Qu'est-ce qui change pour les enfants ?

No UAE statute deals specifically with filming children, but Federal Law No. 3 of 2016 (قانون وديمة, Wadeema's Law on Child Rights) gives the child "the right for privacy according to public morals" (Article 5) and forbids revealing, in media reports, the identity of the parties and witnesses in child-abuse cases (Article 44) (Wadeema's Law). Article 44 of the Cybercrimes Law protects children as it does adults (Art. 44).

Under Federal Decree by Law No. 26 of 2025 on Child Digital Safety and the data-protection law it is "prohibited to collect or use personal data of children under the age of 13" unless "clear consent is obtained from the parent or guardian", and Cabinet Resolution No. 106 of 2026 bars children under 15 from creating or operating personal social-media accounts (u.ae). Get written parental consent before filming or posting other people's children.

Usage privé ou publication

There is no GDPR-style household exemption in UAE criminal law. Article 44 covers "taking photos" and "keeping electronic photos" when done to invade privacy, so unpublished footage can be an offence if that intent exists, and Penal Code Article 431 covers pictures taken in a private place whether or not they are shared (Art. 44; Art. 431). A holiday video with strangers in the background is not what either article describes; the law turns on intent and consent.

Publishing adds Article 44(3) (publishing to harm, even if true), Article 43 (insult) and the media content standards. The data-protection law excludes a person processing their own data for personal purposes, not a creator publishing identifiable third parties (Art. 2).

Ce que change le floutage des visages

Blurring reduces identifiability, which matters under the Personal Data Protection Law: Article 1 defines anonymisation (آلية إخفاء الهوية) as processing after which the person "cannot be identified in any way", and pseudonymisation (آلية إخفاء البيانات) as processing that still allows re-linking with extra information (law text, Arabic). A blurred face with voice, name, car plate, home or caption left in can still identify the person, so it is not anonymised in that sense.

For the Cybercrimes Law, blurring is not a statutory safe harbour: Article 44 is about photographing or publishing with intent to invade privacy or harm, and a blurred clip can still be a "scene" published to harm someone (Art. 44). Blur before posting, above all children, accident victims and private places, but consent remains the only clean route. We found no UAE Data Office guidance on anonymisation.

Là où le droit reste incertain

How courts weigh "any public or private place" against the intent requirement in Article 44 is not set out in any official guidance we could locate. The official portal (uaelegislation.gov.ae) could not be reached from our network, so the English text used is the official translation hosted by Abu Dhabi Global Market; the Arabic prevails (translation). The data-protection law leaves details to executive regulations, and the reach of its "personal purposes" exclusion is untested (u.ae).

Sources

Quelle que soit la règle là où vous filmez, flouter les visages pour lesquels vous n'avez pas de consentement est le moyen le plus simple de rester du bon côté avant de publier. Anonimo le fait sur votre iPhone, sans envoyer la vidéo en ligne.

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