Street video creators given council warnings

Warnings have been issued to social media content creators accused of "exploitative" filming of vulnerable people on a city's streets.

Newcastle City Council confirmed it served Community Protection Warnings telling two people not to record any member of the public without their informed consent in any public place within the city.

It comes amid growing concern over the circulation of online videos showing people who are sleeping rough, intoxicated due to drugs or alcohol, or otherwise vulnerable in Newcastle.

More than 5,600 people have signed a petition calling on Tyneside authorities to mount a crackdown on what it called "public humiliation for entertainment".

The warnings also state that the content creators must not record any employee of Newcastle City Council, Northumbria Police or the NE1 Business Improvement District company, or act in a way likely to cause nuisance or annoyance, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

A Community Protection Warning can be issued in an effort to stop certain behaviours negatively impacting an area.

It is a first stage of action before the issuing of a formal Community Protection Notice, which it is a criminal offence to breach.

Two content creators with the screen names "Michael Ballymore" and "Tin tin" have been named in the petition, with their videos racking up millions of views.

They are among several content creators filming "life on the street" videos in the North East and they operate across multiple social media platforms, including Facebook, TikTok, and Instagram.

Many use smart glasses when gathering their footage, which is often considered as covert filming.

The two creators previously told the BBC in July they "aim to act responsibly, and within the law, while highlighting issues that many people witness every day".

"The aim has never been to mock people or make entertainment out of their situation," they said.

Tin tin, who said he used smart glasses to gather footage, also said they have "a visible recording light when they are recording".

Although filming in public places is legal in the UK, uploading the content to social media may breach data protection laws if those in the videos have not consented.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham said, during a visit to Newcastle, using smart glasses to record someone without their consent was "completely disrespectful".

On a separate visit to Elswick, he said: "It is completely disrespectful to film somebody without telling them and without their permission.

"It is really not on in any way, shape or form, and it can cause huge distress obviously when that footage appears."

He said it would be "premature" to commit to changing the law around their use at this stage, but would continue to look at the issue.

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