Who owns the image of your face? If you think you do --- you're wrong.
It's hard to fathom --- but you don't actually own your own image…especially when it comes to social media. We have The First Amendment to thank for that.
Attorney Matt Todd, an Adjunct Privacy and Data Security Professor at the University Of Houston School Of Law, says this is not a new problem. “The issue of someone using your image without your permission goes back to the beginning of the 20th century and the invention of the photographic camera.”
But don't we have a right to privacy? Todd answers, “In the United States, there is not a ‘right to privacy.’ Under the 4th amendment there is the right to be protected from government intrusion into your private affairs. But it doesn’t cover MY right to intrude into your private affairs!”
The first amendment protects your right of speech. “My taking of a picture of you, and posting my picture to my Facebook page is MY speech,” Todd explains.
Just think about that the next time you laugh your lips off at "People of Walmart" posts. The subjects of those embarrassing photos have no legal recourse.
So, be careful around cameras, cell phones and things with lenses pointing your way.
Don't pick a fight at Wal-Mart.
Why?
Because you don't own your image!