Whilst I’d be very surprised if anyone reading this isn’t already aware of it, this Monday the 16th of February it will become illegal to elicit or attempt to elicit information about the armed forces, security forces or constabulary that is useful or likely to be useful to people committing or preparing an act of terrorism. Counter-Terrorism Act 2008.
Given the horrendously broad scope this wording allows and the well documented dislike our police force have for people taking their photo’s or in fact any photo’s at all (whilst being increasingly keen on taking ours), this had been widely interpreted as being likely to cause grave difficulties for photographers of all kinds. So the National Union of Journalists have organized an event in association with Mark Thomas. Note this is not a demo it’s just a media event, because demo’s also aren’t popular, so “No riots, no army, no fighting, no slogans”.
More details can be found from:
British Journal of photography
Face book
Old Holborn
The devils kitchen
Leg Iron
The Guardian
Comment is Free
Obsolete
FIT Watch
and many other places as well.
I personally suspect that photography may be the least of our worries, as by applying my usual policy of always reading any contract or law in its worst possible light, this law would seem to actual allow them to arrest you for asking asking for an officers name and number after they’ve stopped you. It would certainly make trying to make a record of any police misbehavior tricky, and it doesn’t really matter if they end up prosecuting as before then they’ll have your DNA on file and if they feel like it 28 days (for now) to keep you locked up for. Though of course the law does allow you as a defense to prove that you had a reasonable excuse for eliciting/publishing the information concerned, which is somewhat of a reverse of the usual presumption of innocence and proving reasonableness being notoriously difficult. Still on the bright side the government does say this isn’t specifically aimed at photographers and that it will be the job of the Police and courts to interpret the law, so that’s all right then.
The section of the law in question:
76 Offences relating to information about members of armed forces etc
(1) After section 58 of the Terrorism Act 2000 (collection of information) insert—
“58A Eliciting, publishing or communicating information about members of armed forces etc<
(1) A person commits an offence who—
(a) elicits or attempts to elicit information about an individual who is or has been—
(i) a member of Her Majesty’s forces,
(ii) a member of any of the intelligence services, or
(iii) a constable,
which is of a kind likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism, or
(b) publishes or communicates any such information.
(2) It is a defence for a person charged with an offence under this section to prove that they had a reasonable excuse for their action.
(3) A person guilty of an offence under this section is liable—
(a) on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 10 years or to a fine, or to both;
(b) on summary conviction—
(i) in England and Wales or Scotland, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum, or to both;
(ii) in Northern Ireland, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum, or to both.
(4) In this section “the intelligence services” means the Security Service, the Secret Intelligence Service and GCHQ (within the meaning of section 3 of the Intelligence Services Act 1994 (c. 13)).
(5) Schedule 8A to this Act contains supplementary provisions relating to the offence under this section.”.
(2) In the application of section 58A in England and Wales in relation to an offence committed before the commencement of section 154(1) of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 (c. 44) the reference in subsection (3)(b)(i) to 12 months is to be read as a reference to 6 months.
(3) In section 118 of the Terrorism Act 2000 (c. 11) (defences), in subsection (5)(a) after “58,” insert “58A,”.
(4) After Schedule 8 to the Terrorism Act 2000 insert the Schedule set out in Schedule 8 to this Act.
