Scenarios

  • You want to add images and videos to your course content and you want to know which rules you have to take into account.

Rules for the use of images and videos with people in it

The Dutch Data Protection Authority (Dutch DPA) has stated the following about the use of images with people on it:

Business use: the privacy law applies here; you need written permission to publish the images.
Personal use: an exception to the privacy law applies here. When images are shared with a small group of people, permission is not required and the privacy law doesn't apply.
Publication on the internet (public): When using visual material that will become publicly available on the internet, written permission is always required. In addition, a person appearing in the photo or video always has the right to have the image removed from the internet.

The privacy law applies when someone is recognizable in a picture or video. There are two exceptions to the privacy law:

  1. Footage for personal use (as mentioned above);
  2. Footage made in public spaces: a location is public when people have free access to it. There are exceptions to this, for example train stations. When in doubt, it is important to always ask for written permission.

For more information, visit the website of the Dutch Data Protection Authority.

Royalty free photos and videos

If you want to use footage that you didn't create yourself, you can look online for royalty free photos and videos. You can usually use this material without permission (note: sometimes websites ask to refer to the source). Below you will find a number of websites that offer royalty free images:

You can also search for royalty free images via Google. On the Images page, click the Tools button and select Creative Commons licenses for the Usage rights option:

Using images from websites

If you want to use images from websites, some rules apply as well. Sometimes these rules are stated on the website. If this is not clear then contact the owner of the website.

YouTube videos

When searching for videos on YouTube, you can turn on a filter that allows you to filter on royalty free videos. You can download and use these videos. Choose Creative Commons under Filters: