Spain
- Taking a picture of a person in a public space: Requires consent (see definition below)
- Publishing pictures of a person in a public space: Requires consent (as per above)
- Commercial use of a published picture of a person in a public space: Requires consent (as per above)
In Spain, the right to the own image is guaranteed by Constitution (Sections 18.1 and 20.4).
[109]
Civil law deals with this subject in the context of privacy legislation (Fundamental Law No. 1/1982).
[110]According to section 7.5 of the above law
[111],
“the taking, reproducing or publishing of the image of a person captured by photography or filming or any other means in places or moments of private life or outside these” is considered to be an
“illegal intromission in private life”, unless in some specific cases. The same applies under section 7.6 of the mentioned law to the illegitimate
“use of the name, the voice or the image of a person for publicity, commercial or similar purposes.”The exceptions to the above statement are the following:
- There is no illegal intromission:
- In case of explicit consent of the concerned person (section 2.2).[112]
- In case of predominant and relevant historical, scientific or cultural interests (section 8.1).
- It is allowed to capture, reproduce and publish a picture without permission if the person depicted is a public figure[113] and the picture is taken in a public event or in a public space, open to everybody (section 8.2.a).[114]
- It is allowed to propagate graphical information about public events or occurrences when the image of a particular person appears merely incidentally (section 8.2.c).
Later commercial re-use of previously published news pictures or public figures' images (lawfully released without permission) is not allowed without the consent of the person(s) affected (see Sentence 231/88 of the Spanish Constitutional Court, dealing with the death of the star matador Paquirri).
[115]Special rules apply to minors and incapacitated persons. If they are under a legal disability, written consent from a legal representative is to be obtained in order to capture or publish or use their picture, and shall be submitted to the local Public Prosecutor's Office for approvement (section 3 of the above law).
Other regulations:
Section 491.2 of the Spanish Penal Code penalizes the use of the image of the King or any of his ancestors or descendents, the Prince or Princess Consort, the Crown Prince, the Regent or any Member of the Regency in any way that can damage the prestige of the Crown.