The question has two layers that are frequently conflated: filming and publishing the footage. Turkish law contains no general prohibition on filming in public places; the real limit lies at the publication stage.
The filming stage
Taking general footage in a public square, street or park is in principle permitted. There are two exceptions:
- Filming directed at the sphere of private life. Filming from the street into the window or garden of a home falls within Article 134 of the Criminal Code even though it is done from a public place.
- Filming judicial acts. Under Article 183 CPC devices enabling recording or transmission may not be used inside the courthouse building or in the performance of judicial acts outside it; Article 286 of the Criminal Code punishes that with up to six months’ imprisonment.
The publication stage: the real limit
Article 24/2 of the Civil Code supplies the test: “Unless justified by the consent of the person whose personality right is injured, by a superior private or public interest or by the exercise of a power conferred by law, every attack on personality rights is unlawful.”
The consequence is that being in a public place does not amount to consent. Publication can be justified only by public interest or by consent.
| Use | Assessment |
|---|---|
| General footage of a crowd with no one singled out | In principle unproblematic |
| A person brought into close-up and made the subject of the story | Without public interest, an argument of infringement of personality rights arises |
| Use of footage in a story unconnected with its subject | High risk — the person is associated with a phenomenon that does not concern them |
| Archive footage used to illustrate a negative story | High risk; in broadcasting Article 8/1(ı) of Law No. 6112 also requires the archive character to be stated |
| Close-up footage of a child | Parental consent required; in a judicial context the Article 21(c) ban applies |
Public officials and public figures
Filming a public official performing their duty in public satisfies the public interest test more readily. The same is true of footage relating to the public activities of public figures. But the private life of such persons remains protected; the test is whether the footage relates to the public role or to private life.
The data protection dimension
A recognisable image of a person is also personal data. Obligations under Law No. 6698 and the exception granted to journalistic activity are assessed together. We deal with that distinction in detail in the data protection exemption guide and the personal data in news guide.
What to do
- Obtain oral consent and record it for frames that single a person out.
- Do not use recognisable people in illustrative images; if you must, obtain consent.
- When using stock or archive images in negative stories, render people unrecognisable.
- Do not use close-ups of children without parental consent.
- Do not use footage outside the context in which it was taken.
Consent in street interviews is covered in the street interview guide and covert filming in the hidden camera guide.