Parliamentary majority in sight for a ban on sharing footage of accident victims
The Netherlands is one step closer to banning the sharing of photos and videos of accident victims. The CDA and PRO, previously GroenLinks-PvdA, will submit a bill today, proposing a fine of up to €9,000 or a year in prison for violating the ban, and a majority in parliament seems set to support it, according to RLT Nieuws.
PRO MP Songül Mutluer and CDA MP Jelte Straatman feel the law is needed because bystanders increasingly reach for their phones to take a photo or video instead of offering help at accident scenes.
This footage is then rapidly shared on social media, with a major impact on victims and surviving loved ones. The victims are victimized three times over, according to aid organizations. First, in the accident, then their privacy is violated when they are filmed in an extremely vulnerable time, and then they have to face the dissemination and reactions online.
“Despite previous calls from emergency workers, police officers, and politicians, you see that everyone holding a phone simply doesn’t care,” Mutluer told RTL about the need for the law.
Due to concerns and criticism about the enforceability of the law and the difficulty of tracking down the original source of a video or photo, the MPs adjusted it to make the sharing of footage, not the filming of accident victims, punishable.
According to the broadcaster, a majority in parliament is prepared to support the bill. JA21 and the Markuszower Groep have pledged support, and D66 has a “positive attitude” toward the law. The Tweede Kamer, the lower house of the Dutch parliament, will debate the bill later this year.
