Legal Question in Constitutional Law in North Carolina

Do people have the right to A. take pictures without my knowing B. to post them on social media sites and C. to bully/make fun of me?


Asked on 2/23/12, 11:57 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys

Clarke Dummit Dummit Fradin (Winston-Salem Office)

A) We live in a free society, so people can take pictures of you while you are in public. They obviously cannot take hidden pictures of you in lured or private moments as you have a legitimate expectation of privacy, however in public places it is OK.

B) There is no law which prevent people from posting pictures without consent. If a business is using you image for profit, there are some protections, but simply posting a picture... I repeat that we live in a free society. The Social Media Site may regulate the issue privately, and that site may allow you to complain and they will take the pictures off. But that is a private matter determined by their own policy.

C) North Carolina does have very specific criminal statutes which make bullying a crime. Specifically � 115C‑407.15 deals with Bullying and harassing behavior. and � 14-458.1 deals with Cyber-bullying. Both of these statutes are geared at protecting minors, and generally do not apply to adults who claim to be victims of bullying. If you are an adult, you need to develop thick skin and ignore this, however if you are minor (while you still need to learn to deal with the problem) you can report the problem and ask the School Resource Officer to investigate. I do not mean to make light of the problem by saying you need to develop thick skin, but the Law can only get involved in prosecuting crimes after they have happened. Thus even if the case is prosecuted, you will still have to deal with the fall out. You should seek some help in counselling to deal with the obvious pain it must be causing you.

Read more
Answered on 3/08/12, 6:13 am


Related Questions & Answers

More Constitutional Law questions and answers in North Carolina