A right that should've been: Protection of personal images on the internet

This paper provides an overview of the current legal protection of personal images that are uploaded and shared on social networks within an Australian context. The paper outlines the problems that arise with the uploading and sharing of personal images and considers the reasons why personal images ought to be protected. In considering the various areas of law that may offer protection for personal images such as copyright, contract, privacy and the tort of breach of confidence. The paper highlights that this protection is limited and leaves the people whose image is captured bereft of protection. The paper considers scholarship on the protection of image rights in the United States and suggests that Australian law ought to incorporate an image right. The paper also suggests that the law ought to protect image rights and allow users the right to control the use of their own image. In addition, the paper highlights that a right to be forgotten may provide users with a mechanism to control the use of their image when that image has been misused.

© 2020 University of New Hampshire Franklin Pierce School of Law