The Italian general rule requiring the consent of the person portrayed does not apply when the reproduction of the image is justified by the subject’s public notoriety or office, by the needs of justice or law enforcement, by scientific, educational, or cultural purposes, or when the reproduction is related to events, incidents, or ceremonies of public interest or that occurred in public. These are exhaustive exceptions, in which the right to privacy of the person portrayed is overridden in favor of collective interests deemed to be of greater importance.
The exception based on notoriety is justified only to the extent that the publication of the image serves the public’s right to information and may not be extended to infringe upon every aspect of the private life of well-known individuals.
In the case of a person holding public office, the use of their portrait is allowed only when it pertains to occasions in which the person was acting in an official capacity, not in their private sphere.
Likewise, the needs of justice or law enforcement may justify the use of someone’s image without consent—for example, to locate a missing or wanted person, or when the use of the image serves solely to prove facts relevant to a judicial proceeding.
The lack of necessity for consent to the use of one’s image may also be justified by scientific, educational, or cultural purposes, or by participation in an event of public interest or that took place in public.
This latter exception applies only when the publication of the portrait serves a legitimate public interest—such as when it would be impossible to inform the public about a certain event without showing the image of those who took part in it.
However, none of the above exceptions apply if the exhibition or commercial use of the image causes harm to the honor, reputation, or even the dignity of the person portrayed. Such harm may occur, for instance, when the portrait itself is not offensive, but the context or manner in which it is published is.
