Think about the last time you walked down a busy street, sat in a pub or queued for a train. Now imagine that moment - completely ordinary to you - being filmed by a stranger, uploaded to TikTok or YouTube and watched by millions. Maybe it’s monetised; maybe it’s mocked. One thing is for sure though, it never disappears.

Filming people in public has now become second nature for some. But what happens when those images are shared, edited and turned into social media content? Can you stop someone filming you in public? What rights do you have when the footage is published?

In this episode, we are joined by Naomi Mathews, a lawyer who specialises in Data Protection, Freedom of Information and Surveillance Law. Naomi helps us explore what the law actually says about filming people in public, where it falls short and how that affects real people who find themselves turned into content without consent. We’ll also ask the harder questions about ethics, power and whether the UK needs a new law to better protect the public.

Useful Links

Blog Post on Filming People in Public

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