Two recent cases, separated by an ocean and governed by somewhat disparate American and European concepts, nonetheless have found common ground in the balance between free expression and privacy rights, on an increasingly unsettling battlefield.
On Aug. 5, a trial court in New York in Foster v. Svenson dismissed an action against photographer Arne Svenson brought by the parents of children whom Svenson photographed. Svenson, using a telephoto lens from his Manhattan apartment building, shot through the windows of a neighboring apartment building. His photographs included children and adults, taken without their knowledge or permission, and were exhibited at an art gallery in an exhibit titled “The Neighbors.” At least one image of the plaintiff’s children showed an identifiable face, and showed “partially clad bodies.”
