Data Protection

Consent, Security and Privacy

Collecting and managing participant data creates responsibilities under the Data Protection Act 2018. It’s crucial to understand and adhere to these regulations to ensure the ethical and lawful use of personal information.

When using social media to promote your work, obtaining explicit consent from all participants for the use of their images is essential. This is not merely a matter of individual preference; there may be legal or personal reasons why someone may not want their image shared publicly.

To protect participant privacy, consider creative solutions such as photographing participants from behind or having them hold up their work to obscure their faces during group photos.

Important Note: Never post images of children online with their full names. This is can have serious consequences.

A challenging experience I encountered involved a film project with a major children’s charity. After months of work, I was informed that the film could not be shared or distributed due to the involvement of children subject to child protection orders. This highlights the critical importance of thorough data protection considerations from the outset.

It is also one of the key reasons I started experimenting with animation when working with young people because the puppets and drawings didn’t need to fill in a consent form.