This week, women across London were shocked and enraged to discover images of themselves posted to the Facebook group, “Women Who Eat on Tubes”. The group in question asks members of the public to take and share their snaps of unsuspecting women enjoying on-the-go snacks, which has made for some angry responses amongst travellers. With this in mind, we at The Practice want to know: Just when is a joke taken too far, and is sharing images of others online without their knowledge a breach of privacy?

If you take a look at the group’s Facebook page, the images and accompanying comments are admittedly very funny, but we can’t help feel a little sad for the women pictured, who had no idea they were being photographed at quite a personal moment. Each shot is amusingly accompanied by the time, the food eaten, and on which tube line it occurred, under the tongue-in-cheek, “TFL”. And it seems that snappers are awarded positive comments for proximity of shot, as well as their ability in capturing that all important “bite”. The page does make for addictive scrolling, probably because by nature we’re strangely interested in other people, and especially their eating habits.

The issue that’s concerning though is that it’s difficult for a photographed woman to ask for her picture to be removed from the site once posted. This was the case of Sophie Wilkinson, who demanded her image be taken down when she spotted it on the page. Instead of complying however, the poster shared the conversation alongside the image again, which led to a barrage of negative and degrading comments directed at Sophie. While it isn’t illegal to take or post photographs of strangers in a public environment, under Data Protection law, a person does have the right not to have his or her personal data collected, published or processed without permission. When it comes to social media however, it’s murky terrain- usually only improper photojournalism is punishable, while a seemingly harmless Facebook page is unlikely to be brought before the law.

The question is- should photographing people in public without their consent be fully outlawed? That’s certainly Hungary’s approach to a new law, which makes it illegal to take an image without everyone in the frame in agreement. In theory this seems like an appropriate measure, but just how well can it be regulated? We certainly don’t think the UK should follow suit, but it is crucial for those who feel that their rights are being infringed to speak out, especially when it comes to the hazy world of social media. Earlier today however, it was announced that Facebook removed the group due to the growing amount of backlash it received. It has since re-emerged, but this time as a closed group, meaning members have to request to join the group, and posts can only be viewed by existing members. It’s a positive step for those against the movement, but unfortunately it might only be a matter of time before a more serious violation arises.

Do you think such movements or acts are an invasion of our privacy rights? And do you think there should be stricter data protection laws in place to ensure our information isn’t shared online without our permission? We’d love to hear your views on the story, so please tweet to us @PracticeDigital and share your comments on our Facebook page.