privacy gdpr photography
Do family pictures and videos in public places fall under GDPR?
<blockquote>
  <p>The Czech Data Protection Authority fined Mr. Rynes for filming
  members of the public without their consent. Mr. Rynes appealed,
  arguing that he was covered by the personal and household activities
  exemption.</p>
  
  <p>The court decided that although the filming was for private
  purposes, it involved people that were not part of Mr. Rynes' private
  life. Therefore, Mr. Rynes was not covered by the exemption and had to
  comply with the GDPR.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Source: <a href="https://www.termsfeed.com/blog/gdpr-exemptions/#If_You_Re_Processing_Personal_Data_For_Domestic_Purposes" rel="noreferrer">https://www.termsfeed.com/blog/gdpr-exemptions/#If_You_Re_Processing_Personal_Data_For_Domestic_Purposes</a></p>

<p>So if I take a picture of my family or filming them in a public place and strangers appears in the background, the GDPR applies to this case, therefore, I have to provide privacy policy?</p>

<p><a href="http://curia.europa.eu/juris/document/document.jsf?docid=160561&amp;doclang=EN" rel="noreferrer">The judgment linked to by the article says</a>:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>During the period from 5 October 2007 to 11 April 2008, Mr Ryneš installed and used a [continuously recording] camera system
  located under the eaves of his family home. The camera was installed
  in a fixed position and could not turn; it recorded the entrance to
  his home, <em>the public footpath and the entrance to the house opposite</em>. [my emphasis]</p>
</blockquote>

<p>That is the context of the case.</p>

<p>He hadn't obtained consent from his neighbour to film the entrance to their home and therefore their family. He hadn't obtained consent from passers-by or warned them by means of a sign that there was a surveillance system monitoring that part of the public space.</p>

<p>The court ruled that:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>The second indent of Article 3(2) of Directive 95/46/EC of the
  European Parliament and of the Council of 24 October 1995 on the
  protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal
  data and on the free movement of such data must be interpreted as
  meaning that the operation of a camera system, as a result of which a
  video recording of people is stored on a continuous recording device
  such as a hard disk drive, installed by an individual on his family
  home for the purposes of protecting the property, health and life of
  the home owners, <em>but which also monitors a public space</em>, does not
  amount to the processing of data in the course of a <em>purely</em> personal or
  household activity, for the purposes of that provision. [my emphasis]</p>
</blockquote>

<p>If you recorded or took photos of your family members enjoying walking through Trafalgar Square, a very busy public space, it's likely you could successfully claim it was a purely personal or household activity - if the authorities were at all bothered by it (which they are not).</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Do family pictures and videos in public places falls under GDPR?</p>
</blockquote>

<p>If it is "<em>by a natural person in the course of a purely personal or household activity</em>", no. See Article 2.2(c) of the <a href="https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32016R0679" rel="nofollow noreferrer">GDPR</a>.</p>

<p>Based on the information in your post, the Czech court made the wrong decision in the matter of Rynes. The GDPR nowhere requires that people in the recordings be involved in the person's private life. Instead, the regulation only considers the <em>purpose(s)</em> for which those records or data is (are) processed/used. The story has no indication that Rynes was using the data for purposes that would be within scope of the GDPR.</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>if I take a picture of my family or filming them in a public place and strangers appears in the background, the GDPR applies to this case</p>
</blockquote>

<p>No. The circumstantial fact that strangers appear in the background at a public place does not imply that you are using the recording for something other than <em>a purely personal or household activity</em>. Therefore, application of the GDPR would require additional elements.</p>
