Since 2018, the Image Suppliers’ Association/BLF_Fotograferna together with the Swedish Journalists’ Association and the Swedish Photographers’ Association have had a code of conduct regarding professional photography for approval by the Swedish Data Protection Authority (formerly the Swedish Data Protection Authority). Over the years, the Code of Conduct has been updated in anticipation of approval, which has been delayed pending guidelines from the EU. After these were finally finalised, and following contacts with the Data Protection Authority and participating photographers’ organisations, BLF_Fotograferna has decided to withdraw the Code of Conduct. Instead, in the autumn, we will produce a recommendation on GDPR which will have the same function as the Code of Conduct but which will be completely independent of the Authority.
“The demands of the Privacy Authority against us as a party and as a code of conduct provider were too far-reaching and threatened our independence. We risked becoming a parastatal with the obligation to impose fines if someone breached the Code of Conduct. When we went into this, there was no regulatory framework ready and we had in mind a Code of Conduct with an industry council to advise the authority. But now the requirements have changed and we have decided to withdraw the Code of Conduct,” says Putte Salminen, Director of BLF_Fotograferna.
The aim is for the new recommendation on GDPR for photographers to be finalised this autumn so that it can be included in the 2022 guides, and hopefully both the Swedish Journalists’ Union and the Swedish Photographers’ Union will support the recommendation.
