Taking Photos Without Permission in Saudi Arabia: The Penalty

You were sitting with your family in a restaurant and noticed someone at the next table pointing his phone at you. Two days later a relative sends you a clip spreading on TikTok, in which your wife and children appear clearly, with mocking comments under it. The question on your mind: did he have the right to film? And did he have the right to post? These are two different questions.

Is taking photos without permission always a crime in Saudi Arabia?

No. Carrying a phone and taking photos is not a crime in itself, and a passer-by appearing in the background of a clip of an event or a street is not always an invasion of private life. What makes photography punishable is that it invades a person's private life through misuse of the camera. If that invasion is proven, the penalty reaches one year in prison and a fine of SAR 500,000, or one of them, and it may be higher if the filming is combined with publication and insult, as explained below.

The factors considered are: where was the photo taken? Does it show the person in a private or embarrassing situation? Was the photographer targeting that person specifically? And what did he do with the photo afterwards? Filming a family in a private setting and posting it to mock them is different from a general shot of a park where people appear at a distance.

What is the penalty for taking and posting photos without permission?

Paragraph 4 of Article 3 of the Anti-Cyber Crime Law punishes “invading private life through misuse of camera-equipped mobile phones or similar devices”. The penalty is up to one year in prison and a fine of up to SAR 500,000, or one of them.

If the photo is posted with comments that insult the person and cause him harm, paragraph 5 of the same article on defamation may apply, with the same penalty. Producing, preparing, sending or storing material that violates the privacy of private life through the information network is punished under paragraph 1 of Article 6 with up to five years in prison and a fine of up to SAR 3 million, or one of them.

If the photo or clip has a sexual meaning that touches the person's body or offends their modesty, the act may fall under the crime of harassment, whose definition includes modern technology (Article 1 of the Anti-Harassment Law).

Is a photo personal data under Saudi law?

Yes. Article 1 of the Personal Data Protection Law expressly lists “still or moving images of the individual” as personal data. Article 2 excludes from the law an individual's processing of data for personal or family use, as long as he does not publish it or disclose it to others.

So the exception protects a photo you keep on your phone for yourself or your family, and it ends as soon as the photo is published or disclosed to others. Shops, restaurants and businesses that photograph their customers and post the photos on their marketing accounts are dealing with personal data governed by the law.

If a business posts your photo without a lawful basis, you may complain to the competent authority (Article 34), which is the Saudi Data and AI Authority (SDAIA), named by Council of Ministers Resolution No. 98 dated 7/2/1443H that issued the law. The complaint is filed through SDAIA's National Data Governance Platform within 90 days of the incident or of your learning of it, with a clear description of the act, the evidence and the details of the party complained against (Article 37 of the Implementing Regulation).

Someone photographed me and posted it. What should I do?

1. Save the link, and take a screenshot of the full post with the account name, the date and the comments.
2. If you know the person who took the photo, ask him in writing to delete it, in a message you can keep.
3. Report the content to the platform using the privacy violation option, after saving the evidence.
4. File a report with the police, because criminal investigation officers must accept reports for all crimes (Article 27 of the Law of Criminal Procedure), or through official electronic channels such as the Kollona Amn (“We Are All Security”) app.

Do not repost the clip yourself to show people what happened to you; that spreads it to people who had not seen it. Your complaint counts as a claim for your private right unless you expressly waive it (Article 29 of the Law of Criminal Procedure), so if you suffered harm, document it.

Agreeing to a photo is not agreeing to publication

You may agree to a friend taking your photo at a family event, or send your photo to someone in a private chat. That does not mean you agreed to it being published to all his followers. Permission is understood within the purpose for which it was given. If the person who posted claims you gave permission, the question is: permission for what, to whom, and on which platform?

Your relative photographed you at a wedding, with your permission, to keep the photo. She then posted it on her public Instagram account, which has 15,000 followers. The permission covered only taking and keeping the photo, not publishing it.

Save a screenshot of the post and its link, then ask in writing for it to be deleted. If she refuses, you can still file a report.

This is general information based on the official Arabic texts of Saudi laws, which prevail over any translation. It is not legal advice for your specific case.

Practical solutions for both sides

If you were photographed without permission:

• Save the evidence before asking the poster or the platform to delete it.
• First ask in writing for deletion if the poster is known; the matter may end quickly.
• If the photo shows women or children from your family, or a private situation, do not delay the report.
• Do not respond by filming the photographer or posting his photo; you would become a party to the same violation.

If you are the photographer or the owner of the account that posted:

• If someone asks you to delete their photo, delete it immediately. Deletion limits the harm, even if it does not erase what already happened.
• When filming content in a public place, focus on the place, not on people's faces, and blur clear faces before posting.
• If your business posts photos of customers, get their consent to publication specifically, and keep it.
• If you are summoned, keep the full original clip, anything that shows its context, and any permission you obtained.

If a photo of you or a family member was posted without permission, or you received a complaint because of a clip you filmed, send the link and details on WhatsApp, and we will explain your position and the right next step.