Note: This advice is given by the CAP Executive about non-broadcast advertising. It does not constitute legal advice. It does not bind CAP, CAP advisory panels or the Advertising Standards Authority.
Marketers making references to or about living individuals should ensure that those references comply with the Data Protection Act 1998. The Act defines personal data as any information about an identifiable living individual. That could include photographs of living individuals.
Marketers should consider whether material used in advertisements is protectable confidential information, such as company records. Marketers can be liable for breach of confidentiality for an unauthorised use or disclosure of confidential information in an advertisement. Similarly, photographs of living individuals in situations in which they have a reasonable expectation of privacy (e.g. on private land) can be actionable.
See also entry on ‘Privacy’.
Last modified : 17 April 2012