Can I film the police?
Yes — filming police officers at work in a public place is banned by no Luxembourg text. The law of 11 August 1982 only penalises capturing someone's image without consent in a place NOT open to the public — a street, a park, a demonstration are not such places. The myth: "it is illegal, and an officer can order me to delete the video." Wrong twice: no provision allows anyone to demand deletion of a recording. But the opposite myth is equally false: "it is public, so I can publish anything." No — publishing a recognisable officer still engages the right to one's image. The risk is not in the filming; it is in the publishing and in the behaviour.
📋 The rules
- No offence of "filming a police officer" exists in Luxembourg law. Article 2 of the law of 11 August 1982 on privacy only covers capturing an image without consent in a place not accessible to the public.
- The right to one's image only bites if the person is recognisable (Luxembourg case law, followed by the CNPD). An officer who is blurred or filmed from a distance does not trigger it.
- Publishing is not filming. The CNPD requires double consent: to the recording, and then to the publication. Consent to being filmed is not consent to being posted — and the burden of proving consent falls on whoever publishes.
- The exceptions to consent (CNPD): freedom of expression and information, freedom of the press, and the principle that "an anonymous person may momentarily become a public figure when they are involved in a news event". That is what protects footage of a police operation of public interest.
- GDPR: posting online as a private individual is in principle a purely personal or household activity and falls outside the GDPR — but the right to one's image still applies through the civil courts.
🔓 Exceptions
- Tipping into CONTEMPT (outrage): art. 276 of the Criminal Code punishes insulting behaviour — acts, gestures, threats, writings, drawings — towards an officer of the public authority. Filming is not that; filming while insulting, provoking or shoving a lens into someone's face can be.
- Tipping into REBELLION: arts. 269 onwards require an attack or resistance involving violence or threats. Refusing to stop filming is neither — physically getting in the way is.
- DOXING (art. 449-1 of the Criminal Code): circulating information that identifies or locates an officer in order to expose them or their family to a risk of harm is a separate offence. Publishing an officer's name, address or badge number with intent to harm falls outside the protection of press freedom.
⚠️ Penalties & fines
Filming, in itself: no penalty at all. The risk comes from behaviour. Rebellion committed unarmed and alone carries 8 days to 6 months in prison. For contempt of an officer (art. 276) and doxing (art. 449-1) we publish no penalty scale: the figures in circulation could not be read in the official consolidated text. The invisible cost: a conviction for contempt or rebellion goes on your criminal record — and for a third-country national it weighs directly on the renewal of a residence permit and on any nationality application. Symmetry: since 1 July 2025 the police film you too — body-worn cameras (art. 43ter).
📎 Official sources
- CNPD · data protection authority (home page) — guidelines on "the right to one's image" →
- Grand Ducal Police (home page) — "Body-worn cameras in the Police" page →
- Gouvernement.lu (home page) — explanatory memorandum, draft Criminal Code / demonstrations bill →
❓ Frequently asked
Can an officer make me delete my video?
No, no Luxembourg provision allows an officer to demand that a recording be deleted. Filming in a public place is banned by no text, and an order to delete has no legal basis behind it.
Can I post the video on social media?
Only with care: publishing a recognisable officer engages the right to one's image and in principle requires consent. The publication is protected only where it genuinely serves the public's right to information.
Does blurring the faces protect me?
Largely, yes: the right to one's image only bites where the person is recognisable. An officer who is blurred or filmed from a distance cannot invoke that right against your post.
When does it become contempt of an officer?
Filming alone is never contempt; it is the behaviour around it that tips the balance. Insulting an officer, provoking them or pushing a lens into their face can fall under art. 276 of the Criminal Code.
Do the police film me as well?
Yes, since 1 July 2025 officers have been equipped with body-worn cameras, under art. 43ter of the amended law of 18 July 2018. The recording now runs in both directions.
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