Anonimo
Taal: Nederlands

Mensen filmen

Saoedi-Arabië: mag je mensen filmen, en mag je de video plaatsen?

Dit is algemene informatie, geen juridisch advies. Elke bewering linkt naar zijn primaire bron. Gecontroleerd op 2026-10-17.

Deze pagina is nog niet vertaald en wordt in het Engels getoond, de versie die aan de gelinkte bronnen is getoetst.

Fotograferen in het openbaar is over het algemeen toegestaan, maar de Saoedische wet tegen cybercriminaliteit (Anti-Cyber Crime Law) bestraft het schenden van iemands privacy met de camera van een telefoon en het belasteren van mensen, en de PDPL behandelt gepubliceerde video's als persoonsgegevens.

Mag ik mensen filmen in het openbaar?

The Ministry of Media's official encyclopaedia says photography in public places "is not prohibited except in specific areas" and "is permitted in public places unless a sign prohibiting photography is posted". The exception it names is photos, including with phones, that invade privacy or defame or harm people (Saudipedia).

That comes from نظام مكافحة جرائم المعلوماتية (the Anti-Cyber Crime Law, Royal Decree M/17 of 2007). Article 3 punishes with up to one year in prison and/or SAR 500,000, among other things, "invasion of privacy through the misuse of camera-equipped mobile phones and the like" (item 4) and "defamation and infliction of damage upon others through the use of various information technology devices" (item 5); Article 13 allows the phone to be confiscated (official translation; Ministry of Media summary). The statute does not define "invasion of privacy" or separate public from private places, so the result depends on the facts. The word "misuse" points at filming someone against their wishes or in a private setting rather than at wide street shots, but no official text draws that line.

Organised shoots are different: the Film Commission (Ministry of Culture) says "a permit from The General Commission for Audiovisual Media (GCAM) is required for shooting in a public location", and drones need a civil-aviation permit (Film Commission FAQ). This concerns productions, not personal phone videos.

Mag ik het plaatsen?

Posting a recognisable person is "publishing" personal data under نظام حماية البيانات الشخصية (the Personal Data Protection Law, PDPL, Royal Decree M/19 of 1443H as amended). Article 1 counts "photos and videos of an individual" as personal data and defines publishing as "making available any personal data using any written, audio or visual means". Article 5 bars processing without consent except in listed cases; Article 6(4) allows a legitimate interest that does not prejudice the person and involves no sensitive data; Article 10(2) allows collection from publicly available sources (PDPL).

The law excludes processing "for purposes that do not go beyond personal or family use, as long as the Data Subject did not publish or disclose it to others" (Article 2(2)); the Implementing Regulation adds that "an individual publishing Personal Data to the public" or using it for "professional, commercial, or non-profit purposes" is not personal or family use (Article 2) (Implementing Regulation). A vlogger posting publicly is therefore inside the PDPL, which the Saudi Data and AI Authority supervises (SDAIA).

The Anti-Cyber Crime Law adds Article 3(5), defamation through IT devices, and Article 6(1), up to five years and/or SAR 3,000,000 for material that impinges on public order, religious values, public morals or privacy (official translation). Posting footage to mock or shame someone risks both.

Wat verandert er bij kinderen?

No Saudi statute deals specifically with photographing children. نظام حماية الطفل (the Child Protection Law, Royal Decree M/14 of 1436H) defines a child as under 18 and counts among abuse "exposing a child to obscene and criminal scenes or other scenes inappropriate for his age" and "any act that may threaten the child's safety or physical or psychological wellbeing" (Article 3) (Child Protection Law).

Under the PDPL, consent for a person lacking legal capacity comes from the legal guardian (Article 5(1)); the Implementing Regulation requires the guardian to act in the child's best interests and says the consent "shall not cause any harm to the interests of the Data Subject" (Article 13) (PDPL; Implementing Regulation). Ask parents before posting other people's children.

Privégebruik tegenover publiceren

Recording for yourself and keeping it within your family or close circle is outside the PDPL, provided you do not publish or disclose it (Article 2(2); Implementing Regulation Article 2) (PDPL; Implementing Regulation). The Anti-Cyber Crime Law is different: Article 3(4) targets the misuse of a camera phone to invade privacy, so secretly filming someone in a private setting can be an offence even if nothing is posted (Art. 3).

Publishing changes the analysis: the PDPL applies in full, you need consent or another legal basis, and the defamation and public-morals offences in Articles 3(5) and 6(1) come into play (official translation).

Wat gezichten vervagen verandert

SDAIA's Implementing Regulation says anonymised data "shall no longer be considered as Personal Data", but only if "re-identification of the Data Subject is impossible after Anonymisation" (Article 9), and it defines pseudonymisation as converting identifiers into codes (Article 1) (Implementing Regulation). SDAIA's anonymisation guideline (August 2024) repeats that data must be "irreversibly anonymized, rendering the data subject unidentifiable", and says pseudonymised data "is considered personal data" (guideline).

A blurred face alone rarely meets that bar when voice, clothing, companions, location, a car plate or a caption remain, so the clip usually stays personal data. The Anti-Cyber Crime Law has no blur exception; blurring lowers the chance of identifying and harming someone, which privacy and defamation complaints rest on, but is not a defence in itself (Art. 3). Blur, strip audio and names, and still ask when a person is the subject.

Waar de wet onduidelijk is

The only official statement we found that photography in public is generally allowed is a Ministry of Media encyclopaedia article, not a regulation, and no statute defines "invasion of privacy" (Saudipedia; Art. 3). The official laws portal (laws.boe.gov.sa) could not be reached from our network, so the text used is WIPO Lex's copy of the Bureau of Experts' official translation (first edition, 2009); the Arabic governs. The Ministry of Media's summary adds that a sentence for Article 6 offences may order publication of a summary of the judgment at the offender's expense, which that 2009 text does not contain (Ministry of Media summary). The Film Commission's FAQ names GCAM as the permit authority; check which body issues permits before an organised shoot (Film Commission FAQ). We found no stable official page on photographing worshippers at the Holy Mosques and Hajj sites.

Bronnen

Welke regel er ook geldt waar je filmt: de gezichten vervagen van mensen die je geen toestemming hebben gegeven, is de eenvoudigste manier om het zekere voor het onzekere te nemen voordat je iets plaatst. Anonimo doet dat op je iPhone, zonder de video te uploaden.

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