Ban on photography: Federal Foreign Office warns of new regulations in Poland
Since April, Poland has had a far-reaching ban on photographing of of thousands of objects, including bridges. The Foreign Office is now also issuing a warning.
Street in KrakĂłw
(Image: Martin Holland)
The German Foreign Office has been warning for several days that since mid-April, Poland has had a comprehensive ban on photographing militarily and strategically important objects, including bridges, tunnels and viaducts. Violations of this restriction on freedom of panorama are not only subject to confiscation of equipment, but also to fines and even imprisonment. Although the affected objects are marked, these signs may be difficult to see or not clearly recognizable. The underlying law came into force on April 17 and is intended to increase protection against Russian espionage.
Criticism of feasibility
Even before the law came into force, Tagesschau reported that the ban would affect around 25,000 properties across the country. Multilingual notices are to be displayed there, including one in German that reads "Photography prohibited". Military buildings in which weapons, warfare agents or equipment are stored are particularly affected. But the National Bank and infrastructure facilities such as bridges are also impacted. For this reason, there has been a lot of criticism regarding the feasibility of implementation. There were also warnings of possible unforeseen consequences, for example from a specialist publisher for railroads.
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According to the report, the law provides for penalties of up to 20,000 złoty (around 4700 euros) and even 30 days in prison for illegal photos. Cameras and smartphones can be confiscated. However, this only applies to espionage and not harmless tourist photos, the Ministry of Defense has reassured. Nevertheless, the regulation is now worth a note to the Foreign Office, which was added a week and a half ago. In principle, it is worth checking the legal rules on photography before traveling to a vacation destination. Freedom of panorama does not apply everywhere in the EU, as it does here in Germany.
(mho)
