The British Journal of Photography has an article about a new law that came into light recently that augments the Counter Terrorism Act of 2008 in the UK. It makes it possible to charge a photographer with taking pictures of armed forces, including police officers because the photographs can be used by terrorists to plan an attack. This makes it a chargeable offense to take a picture of a police officer who is in the act of commiting an ethics violation including civil rights. Officers at the scene of the shooting of a man who was handcuffed and facedown at a BART station in the US could have used this to close a scene down and take the cameras and/or charge individuals, thus, suppressing the truth from breaking free. This isn’t the first time a BART officer has had a twitchy finger either, such as this Daily Kos entry.
Photography, like the written word, should be absolutely free. As long as a persons individual privacy is not being violated; If you are outside, there is not individual privacy, thus, I can take your picture. (Making money from my image is another thing altogether, and another blog post in the future.)
How this made it into a realized law is beyond me and it should be repealed.