Legal Question in Technology Law in New Hampshire
Photo's posted on the web site
I am a board member for my local youth basketball league. We have a web site for our league. Is it legal to post the team photographs on our web site? There are over 60 teams, grades 2-12. Is a signed release from a parent/guardian required? Names are not listed under the photos.
Thank you.
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Photo's posted on the web site
Yes, that seems legal. These could be put in a newspaper without special releases and the internet just serves as a different forum for publication. For safety of your youth, I think you are wise not to link the pictures to any identification information for individual children. The fact that you are asking about releases shows you probably understand that once you put out these pictures, it becomes possible for all sorts of people to download the pictures and distribute them, whether legally or not. So, you will want to exercise caution in not unecessarily linking address or names with photos.
Re: Photo's posted on the web site
In my opinion, the safest approach would be to have the parents or guardians grant a release for the photo of their child to be posted. Some parents have concerns about custody issues, stalkers, etc. and may not want to have their child's photo displayed.
Thank you for your question.
Best regards,
Todd D. Epp, Esq.