Uzbekistan all but set to ban photographing people without permission
Uzbekistan appears poised to ban photographing people without their consent, as the government moves to tighten control following a series of scandals involving corrupt police and officials caught on camera — a likely motivation behind the proposed law.
A draft of the controversial legislation was first proposed in 2020, which would forbid the publication of images and recordings and has raised concerns about both individual and press freedoms.
In the law’s current version, that has been expanded to include such recordings’ “capture and storage," according to Radio Free Europe (RFE).
Uzbek lawmakers have described the ban as a measure to protect personal privacy, particularly for children, including a provision that requires parents or caregivers to give consent before anyone under 16 can be photographed.
Fines of up to $1,364 USD ($2,100 AUD) and confiscation of camera equipment for violations are the likely punishments if the law is enacted, a step which is believed to be imminent as the country’s parliament voted in its favour on October 7.
Speaking to RFE, Anzor Bukharsky, an Uzbek photographer who leads photo expeditions for tourists, said much remains unclear about how the law would be enforced and how it would apply in the case of crowds and incidental figures in a photo.
The country is a popular tourist destination, famous for its silk road architecture, and in a Facebook post, Bukharsky questioned what impact the ban could have on tourist numbers.
"Until today, Uzbekistan has been considered a favorable and friendly country for travelers and photo amateurs....won't the tourist flow decrease with such a sudden turn in the unpredictable Uzbek legislation?" he said.
Tourists to the Central Asian state are increasingly younger and more adventurous than the older demographic the country attracted in its early decades of independence following the collapse of the Soviet Union.
“These younger tourists are interested less in brick landmarks and Saints' tombs as the exoticism of the East: Everyday life, national traditions, costumes, the narrow streets of the old part of the city, bazaars, and tandoors,” Bukharsky said.
It's in these settings that the legislation could be tested if it does come into law later this year.