Partially pixelated
Photos are
Portraits.
Partially pixelated
Photos are
Portraits.
from
Hammer torture on photo: Berlin Regional Court strengthens victims’ rights online and prohibits partially pixelated photos.
Image protection
Image protection under the German Copyright Act (KUG) is a central component of personal rights in the media and internet age. A photo in which a person is recognizable may only be published or distributed with their consent, especially online. A person is already “recognizable” if there is a justified reason for third parties to be able to identify them – it is therefore sufficient if a small group of people can identify them. Exceptions, such as for portraits of contemporary history, only apply if the legitimate interests of the person depicted do not prevail.
The case decided by the Berlin Regional Court concerned the reporting of a brutal hammer torture during a criminal trial, in which a media company used still images from a surveillance video of the crime as photos in several online articles. The images showed the victim in an extremely humiliating situation; the images were later partially pixelated, but still published with identifying text details such as origin, role and procedural context.
Partially pixelated photos are portraits
In its judgment of 02.12.2025 – 27 O 366/25 , the Berlin Regional Court qualified all photos as portraits within the meaning of Sections 22, 23 KUG despite partial pixelation, because the victim remained recognizable, in particular for parties to the proceedings, his social environment and persons with special knowledge.
Victims of serious criminal offenses require special protection of their personal rights, which may only be restricted in exceptional cases where there is an overriding public interest in reporting the crime.
The court rejected a justification based on “contemporary history”: the reporting interest of the press had to take second place to the particularly important protection of victims.
Conclusion
Anyone who publishes a photo of a victim of violence is operating in particularly sensitive legal territory. Even a supposedly “anonymous” or pixelated image can be subject to portrait protection if the context allows the person depicted to be identified. According to the court’s decision, victim protection takes precedence over the public interest.
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