Are there privacy laws governing the taking of videos or photos of public events such as open-air concerts?

Yes there are. This can be a tricky area of the law, though.

First, at public events, there’s generally a low expectation of privacy for attendees. Organizers may take photos or videos. The attendees, just by being there, may be implicitly agreeing to be in them.

But context (as always when it comes to the law!) is important.

Is it a public or private event?

For example, at a concert, organizers might post signs or indicate (in the small print) on the tickets that video and audio recordings may be taken at the event — for security purposes. Your attendance can be considered implied consent. If there are no photo policies, or if it’s a free event, image use may depend on how big the event is or where in public it’s taking place. 

If a big street march or rally (a free event, with no posted policies) happens in a very public place, attendees should have a low expectation of privacy. A smaller event, in a less public space, might result in  a higher expectation of privacy. If attending a small, privately organized event, held indoors, your expectation of privacy might be higher still. 

Commercial use

If photos are being used for commercial purposes (like advertising), that’s a bit different, regardless of the context. Explicit consent (like signing a waiver) is required if the person in the photo is identifiable. Individuals have a right to their image and to how it is publicized.

Audio recordings

If the event recordings include audio, you’d typically need explicit consent of at least one of the people involved in the conversation. But general crowd noise or public speeches don’t require consent.

Minor children

Further caution is required for filming minor children. Parents or guardians typically must give consent before a minor’s image is used for any purpose other than casual, non-commercial personal use.

The bottom line

So, to summarize, the bigger the event, the more public the setting, and the less commercial the use of your image (like for a news report), the more likely someone is allowed to take your photo without your explicit consent. 

For situations where you do have a higher expectation of privacy, and someone takes or uses your photo without consent, consider writing them a demand letter to have them remove it.