Recently, a video of actor He Saifei being scolded in the street by a man acting as a proxy has become a hot search topic. Netizens praised him as "well done". Behind the incident, proxy shooting once again attracted attention. In recent years, there have been constant controversies about celebrity photography. How did this industry chain form? What legal issues exist? One article to understand.
[ incident ]
Actor He Saifei angrily scolded the man who "acted as a proxy" Many public figures have been deeply troubled by proxy filming
Recently, a video of a man acting as a proxy for actor He Saifei and being scolded by him in the street has become a hot search. , in the video, He Saifei holds a magic wand prop in his hand, points at the man and asks: "Give me the phone, who asked you to take the photo?". Facing He Saifei's crazy "output", the man was so frightened that he ran away.
Video screenshot
Actor He Saifei is well known for his role as the fierce and outspoken Yang Jiuhong in the film and television drama "The Mansion Gate". Netizens expressed their appreciation for He Saifei's angry rebuke of "proxy shooting": "Well done!", "Yang Jiuhong is not easy to mess with."
Picture source: Sina Weibo
In fact, in addition to He Saifei, in recent years, Wu Jing, Hu Ge, Xiao Zhan , Hu Xianxu and many other celebrities have denounced the proxy shooting behavior in public places such as the airport, hoping that everyone will respect each other and not affect public order.
In October 2023, a video of Chinese table tennis player Wang Chuqin being followed at the airport and angrily attacking "fans" went viral on the Internet. Wang Chuqin then spoke out, hoping to boycott "proxy shooting" and long-term follow-up shooting.
As for the bad habit of proxy shooting, the "fandom culture", in November 2022, Chinese table tennis player Fan Zhendong also posted an article saying, "I hope everyone can gain a positive and optimistic attitude from competitive sports and stay away from the hostility of the fandom. .Anyone’s words and deeds in the fan circle are harmful to me. Please do not conduct substitute analysis, discussion or even quarrel and abuse on my work and life interpersonal relationships under the guise of caring about me and doing my best. For some irrational people , I would also like to ask for respect again, please understand the deep discomfort I feel every time my privacy is violated and I am chased and secretly photographed, and do not bring the bad habits of the rice circle into competitive sports."
[Start]
Why is proxy shooting repeatedly banned?
The proxy photography industry has already formed a complete industrial chain.
Proxy photography, that is, taking photos on behalf of others, is a product of the traffic economy in the entertainment era. Photography agents stay at airports, hotels, shooting sites and other places where celebrities hang out to take photos and videos of celebrities, and then sell the captured photos and videos of celebrities as "first-hand material" to fans at a certain price. A complete upstream and downstream system has been formed around the sale and purchase of artists’ photos and information.
fans and "Zhanzi (a social media account that publishes artist schedules and photos in a timely manner)" are the buyers, and the photography agency group is responsible for shooting and distributing the pictures. So-called "scalpers" provide this circle with a large amount of artist schedule information or identity information. If the price is agreed upon, the buyer can even submit a customized request to a familiar photography agent, who will then make a special trip to take photos of a certain artist only for him. Later, "Zhanzi" sells peripheral products produced from these photos, such as photo albums, posters, photo albums, desk calendars, etc., to fans, who ultimately pay for the photography business. How does
proxy auction obtain the artist’s flight and other private information?
Professional photography agent Lin Hua (pseudonym) showed the Beijing News reporter the celebrity flight information he obtained. It showed that 19 celebrities would arrive at Beijing Capital International Airport that day. The information was accurate to the flight number and takeoff and landing time of the celebrity.
Lin Hua mentioned that if they are not afraid of trouble, shooting agents will even directly purchase the celebrity’s identity information and check the celebrity’s daily itinerary by themselves; there are also scalpers who are responsible for checking the star’s dynamic information at various airports across the country, and then selling it to the outside world. "The flight information I got was bought and very cheap. Checking it one by one by myself is troublesome and time-consuming."
Following Lin Hua's guidance, the Beijing News reporter used the "Celebrity Trip Group" on QQ and WeChat. Searching for the keyword "shooting agent group", we found various group chats selling celebrity flight information. The group members basically have more than 400 people.In several group chats that
reporters have joined, group members will post star flight information every once in a while and offer to sell them at low prices. Interested parties can chat privately. The reporter contacted the group owner "Star Chasing Assistant" as a fan. The other party said that it only costs 10 yuan to check the flight information of any celebrity. If you want to check which celebrities passed through a certain airport that day, it only costs 5 yuan. In addition, the seller also mentioned that he has the ID information of many celebrities, "3 yuan a piece, and 200 yuan to sell in packages. If you don't mind the trouble, you can check the flight yourself based on the celebrity's identity information."
There is huge profit from selling photos Ketu can make tens of thousands of dollars by raising funds to "make money"
When talking about why he buys photos taken by proxies, fan Wang Xingxing (pseudonym) said frankly that it is not just to get the latest news about idols. When he publishes certain photos, There will also be a "sense of achievement". "When she is unable to attend some offline events or airport pick-ups, she will look for help from photography agencies."
According to Pineapple Oil (pseudonym), an old fan in the fan circle, only a small number of people buy photos of celebrities from photography agencies. It is a pure fan behavior. Most buyers are actually "station sisters (women who manage "stations")" in order to activate their personal accounts and make profits. The price of
celebrity photography is not fixed. As long as both the buyer and the seller agree, the transaction can be carried out. Fan Wang Xingxing mentioned that the price of the photo actually depends on the celebrity and the difficulty of shooting. She once bought 50 airport photos of a suddenly famous actor, which cost two to three hundred yuan, and a few spoiler pictures of a TV series being filmed even cost thousands of yuan. There is sometimes no clear line between
fans and proxy photographers. Wang Xingxing often goes to participate in some activities. After taking pictures of her idols, she will also take pictures of other celebrities and sell them to corresponding fans. Read the original text >>>
Artist promotion Xiaoka Wang Zi said that he used to have a proxy shooting group and could make money just by selling pictures. "For example, if I help take a photo of an artist, I will sell the picture to him after taking the photo. It is equivalent to me entering the event for 15,000 yuan, but I may receive 20,000 yuan, and I will earn an extra 5,000 yuan." Senior fan of
Dabai, a practitioner in the performing arts industry, said that many peripheral products are pre-sold very early, and most of the money can be received quickly. When the number of buyers reaches a certain amount, the total amount is very considerable.
artist promotion Xiaoka Wangzi further explained that it is possible that the pre-sale amount of peripheral products can reach several million, and it is difficult to ascertain the specific amount of income obtained from this money.
"We had a website before, and there was a person who was in charge of money. Every income he made, such as incoming and outgoing accounts, had consumption records. But if this money is deposited in some place, the profits generated are not required. Reported. They raised more than a few million yuan, and he made more than 10,000 yuan."
[Interpretation]
There are multiple legal risks in proxy auctions
In August 2021, the Central Cyberspace Administration of China issued the "About Further Strengthening the "Fan" "Notice on the Management of Chaos in the "Rice Circle"", which proposes ten measures such as canceling the list of celebrity artists, optimizing and adjusting ranking rules, and strictly controlling celebrity management companies, to take a heavy blow to solve the problem of chaos in the "rice circle". How should we look at phenomena caused by behaviors such as proxy shooting from a legal perspective? Let’s look at the interpretation of the relevant lawyers.
Or infringe on portrait rights and privacy rights
Zhen Jingshan, deputy director of Beijing Xingquan Law Firm, believes that the growing group of proxy photographers and the fact that proxy photographers have become a business are the product of the abnormal development of the fan economy and are a pathological economic behavior.
Zhen Jingshan, deputy director of Beijing Xingquan Law Firm, believes that for celebrities, the act of proxy shooting may infringe on their legitimate rights and interests.First of all, the agent shoots the star without his consent and even resells the results, which constitutes an infringement of the star's portrait rights; secondly, according to the provisions of the Civil Code, no organization or individual is allowed to spy, intrude, leak, publicize, etc. If the content of the proxy shoot involves the private space, private activities, and private information of the star and interferes with the peace of his private life, it constitutes an infringement of the privacy rights of others; thirdly, if the proxy shoot is carried out in bad ways The shooting, or the content of the shooting is suspected of vilifying the star. The disclosure of the shooting content will significantly reduce the social evaluation of the star, and may also infringe on his reputation. Finally, agents often use various means to illegally obtain the celebrity's address, phone number, Whereabouts information, etc., these behaviors constitute infringement of celebrities’ personal information.
Zhang Xinbao, a professor at the Law School of Renmin University of China, said that the act of "photographing on behalf of" an artist may also infringe on the privacy rights of the artist. Selling the artist's photos for profit may also infringe on the artist's portrait rights. The infringed party may require the other party to destroy the photos and compensate for the infringement.
Or infringe on trade secrets, causing economic losses
Zhen Jingshan believes that for the crew, proxy shooting will not only infringe on their legitimate rights and interests, but may also cause them huge losses. The crew or producer enjoys complete intellectual property rights for the film and television dramas they produce, such as copyrights for the stills, styling, scenery, lines, performance content, etc. The photographer shoots the above content and produces the results with the above content. Resale constitutes copyright infringement. If the crew takes confidentiality measures to keep the shooting scene secret, the photographer uses illegal means to shoot, and the content of the shooting is not known to the public, then trade secrets may be infringed. At the same time, if the filming agent adopts means or behavior to disrupt the filming order of the crew, in serious cases, it may cause the crew to stop filming and cause serious economic losses to the crew.
is suspected of disrupting public order
Zhang Xinbao, a professor at the Law School of Renmin University of China, pointed out that if the normal order of public places is affected by "proxy shooting", it is a minor violation of public security, but if property is destroyed, or the consequences are more serious , you may be liable for civil compensation, and in serious cases, you may be held criminally liable.
For more related legal issues and extended content, please listen:
How does a celebrity proxy picture come into being? Revealing the "industry chain" of proxy photography
Regarding proxy photography,
What do you think?
Source: CCTV News, Jimu News, Rule of Law Daily, Beijing News
Editor Chang Jiang
Design Lu Zixiong
Proofreading Zhang Yanjun
