Can it have legal effect if teachers record a video supporting a centre for the sick in a public centre for minors? The answer is: Yes.

Suppose that, once this video was recorded, the venue managers sent a communication asking those responsible for the children whether they would prefer those children did not appear on the tape. In the event of a refusal, they warned, the footage would be edited so that they would not appear.

What we see from a legal point of view is, first of all, a teaching staff that promotes the exposure on the internet of people with whom there is a bond of attachment and care. Secondly, conduct that puts vulnerable collective rights at risk. In fact, we can almost safely say that this practice is naturalised, as it is common to ask for consent ex post facto.

Four different rules apply to this matter, namely: a) Organic Law 1/1982 of May 5th on the civil protection of the right to honour, personal and family privacy and self-image; b) Organic Law 1/1996 of January 15th on the Legal Protection of Minors; c) the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR); and Organic Law 3/2018 of December 5th on the Protection of Personal Data and Guarantee of digital rights (LOPDGDD).

Professor Ricard Martínez M., director of the Privacy and Digital Transformation Chair, states that all these regulations refer to the same rules, i.e.: "Recording and reproducing the image of a minor requires a risk analysis that must be based on the best interests of the minor. In the event of doing so, the authorisation of those with parental authority or guardianship is required. And this must be expressed by means of prior, free, unequivocal, specific and informed consent".

In addition to the above, the Basic Statute of the Public Employee and the legislation on regional civil service obliges the application of the law and the guarantee of fundamental rights. One of them is the protection of personal data. Furthermore, the aforementioned Organic Law 3/2018 is clear on this point when it comes to minors and schools.

Without doubt, in this case the public official should have notified the responsible for data processing in advance of the intention to capture and share images. However, there is a second reading to be made.

It has to do with sharing with the educational community the relevance of guaranteeing the rights to one's own image and data protection. "In addition to consulting the person responsible for data protection, it would have been more than reasonable to work with all parents and involve them in the design of the activity," says professor Martínez.

These facts reveal something that is relatively well known, namely that government professionals have not received adequate training in these matters. "And this, in environments that work with vulnerable people, should make us reflect on the risks that could arise for the treatment of information of these groups in contexts of greater impact", the academic states.

For more information on this topic, check out Professor Ricard Martinez’s article "Por el puro placer de... compartir" published on May 23rd in ElDiario.es of the Valencian Community.