Judge halts broadcast over student privacy

The RTL program Project P about bullying in schools, has been ordered by the court in Lelystad to remove Monday's episode from the schedule. The school where the episode was filmed demanded that the judge hold back the program. The court conceded as the privacy of the pupils weighs more than RTL's freedom of expression. The program, Project P: stop het pesten shows the life of young people being bullied in school. Some scenes were recorded with hidden cameras. The creators of the show want to show viewers, as well as the classroom, what kind of influence bullying has on the victims. Various schools, as well as parents, were angry about the secretly recorded images. The Einstein Lyceum in Rotterdam demanded that RTL not air that footage, but the channel refused. The school board filed summary proceedings against them. The school finds the images stigmatizing, and that RTL only wants to air them for sensation. The channel insists that the program is meant to create awareness about bullying in schools. The judge added that schools are not public spaces. Ordinarily, students and teachers do not have to keep in mind that they will be filmed especially not with hidden cameras. Above all, children do not have the choice whether or not to attend school. Recorded pupils are also too easy to recognize, the judge said. The chance exists that the pupils will be recognized on social media. A penalty sum of €250,000 will have to be paid if RTL does decide to show the images.