In the case of Bild GmbH & Co. KG v. Germany, the Court held that there had been a violation of the freedom of expression.

The case concerned a court ruling ordering bild.de, a major news website, to take down CCTV footage of a police arrest at a nightclub in Bremen unless it blurred the face of one of the police officers involved.

The Court found that the reasoning of the German courts as regards the second and any future use of the footage had been insufficient, and that the reasoning could lead to an unacceptable ban on any future publication, without the consent of the individuals concerned, of unedited images of police officers performing their duties.

• Press release
• Factsheet: Right to the protection of one’s image