Hidden Camera Prank Videos. Aren’t they Great!

Here is one that I have always remembered:

Due to the rise of Youtube another type of videos has taken flight. Hidden camera social experiment videos…

Today in the Media 1 Lectorial we raised the question “is it ethical to film someone without them Knowing?”. I had looked this up a few weeks ago for my Self Portrait Project. I wanted to photograph people who looked similar to me or did similar things. I know that in some countries in Europe this is illegal without their permission, so i looked up the laws for Melbourne and found the following on the “ArtsLaw Australia” Page:

“There are no publicity or personality rights in Australia, and there is no right to privacy that protects a person’s image. Existing privacy laws are more concerned with storage and management of personal information and are of limited relevance to the present issue.”

Given this information my personal belief would be that Hidden Camera video is ok in Australia, however i would ask the subject to afterwards sign a release form. Just so that they fully understand that i intend to use their video.