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What can I do if a salon uses my photo without permission in Thailand?

Image RightsPrivacy LawsMassage SalonThai LawExpats in ThailandPDPAFacebookTourist Police
Nov 15, 2023
a year ago
Linz ************
ORIGINAL POSTER
Hi all

Just found 2 photos of myself and my wife having a massage, the photos were taken yesterday evening whilst we were in a massage salon and posted on Facebook without our knowledge (or permission)

I contacted the salon, and politely requested they be removed and thankfully the salon agreed and indeed a few minutes later, said photos (or should I say advert) was removed and that’s the end of it as far as we are concerned

However, out of interest, if the salon refused to remove the photos, am I correct in saying there would be nothing I could do about it?

Thank you
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TLDR : Answer Summary
The user found photos of themselves and their wife taken at a massage salon without their consent and posted on Facebook. They contacted the salon, which removed the photos, but are curious about their legal options if the salon had refused. The discussion highlights that Thai society often has a different attitude towards privacy, and while permission is generally needed, enforcement of privacy rights may not be robust. Some commenters suggest reporting the photos to Facebook or the tourist police, while others note that legal recourse might be complicated.
Phil ******
@Linz ***********
 you can make a police report
a year ago
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Michael ********
In public area is allowed
a year ago
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Dan ********
Can I be nosey and ask, for the reason of debate, how and where did you come across the photos ? Why were they taken/used ? Why would you not be happy with them being used. ? Genuine, sincere question. Reply privately if you prefer. Thank you
a year ago
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Linz ************
ORIGINAL POSTER
@Dan *******
 not a debate as such, just interested in knowing what I could do if the salon refused to remove the advert/ photos of myself and my wife

However to answer your questions, I have joined a number of groups here on Facebook (including this one) I saw a rather misleading advert on another local group promoting their services, photographs were taken presumably to be used for advertising purposes and looking at the camera angle, I believe the stills were taken from cctv, had we have been asked, chances are we would have said yes but to have covert images taken, then used to make exaggerated claims within an advert using our faces without our knowledge is misleading and in our view wrong
a year ago
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Linz ************
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Don *********
…or you could just choose to be happy about your newfound fame and look for the positives 🙂
a year ago
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Patrick ********
Who would you complain to Thailand don't care their laws are for thai people
a year ago
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Ricky ******
Suing a Thai business in Thailand under what law exactly? That should keep a Thai lawyer nice and busy and a lot richer😃
a year ago
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Charlie *******
Id be livid.
a year ago
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Don *****
Most Thai people are very polite and understanding. Smile and be nice they will understand your concern and apologize. The ones who aren’t polite …good luck
a year ago
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Gregg *************
Welcome to thailand

Please come again soon
a year ago
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Daniel ************
can sue them -
a year ago
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Andy ********
@Daniel ***********
 you wont get anything and neither should you.... law suits are out of control
a year ago
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Damien ********
@Daniel ***********
 great idea 💡

Sue a poor massage parlour
a year ago
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Daniel ************
@Damien *******
 i say what u can - by law - i didnt say he should or it make sense
a year ago
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Daniel ************
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Nigel *********
@Daniel ***********
 how do you use People who have nothing? You're not in Kansas now.
a year ago
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Nigel *********
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Oliver ********
Taking photos of people without their permission and sharing that content online isn't considered an issue in Thai society / Thai law, unless the people in the photo are committing a crime / doing something immoral, in which case their faces are typically blurred out. For example, medical staff often share photos of their patients, teachers often share photos of their students, airline staff often share photos of their passengers, and many local business owners / managers share photos of their customers.
a year ago
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Richard *********
You could call the tourist police and ask them? Message is a bit personal. The pool I swim at occasionally asked me if they could take some photos & videos of me swimming as their pool business never recovered after Covid. I said sure no problem, I do not even know their FB.
a year ago
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Nigel *********
Actually yes, there is something you can do about it. Earlier this year some rather strong laws were activated ( became law before COVID but we're deferred to earlier this year). Similar to GDPR (PDPA).

Look. I wouldn't stress to much about it. Thailand has a very different attitude to privacy.

It shouldn't have happened. Hopefully they'll learn from it.

I often use photos of clients all the time. I always talk to them about using the pics for promotion and so far no issues.

You did the right thing
a year ago
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Jarek ************
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66/police-issue-guidance-on-controversial-new-data-law
a year ago
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Nigel *********
@Jarek ***********
 I was to lazy to find the link.
a year ago
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Nigel *********
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Justin *********
Not sure if you’d be able to get recourse through Thai authorities very easily, but you could flag the photos to facebook to get them taken down. Mind you, that’d probably be a time-consuming pain in the butt, but I’m pretty sure “there’s an unauthorized photo of my butt on your website” is something fb has a team in place to deal with.
a year ago
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Carsten ************
They need your permission, but most probably the police would not much care about a complain like that.
a year ago
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Andy ********
correct.
a year ago
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Andy ********
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