Photography & Drones — Austria

In Austria the legal trap is usually POSTING the photo, not taking it. Anyone recognisable in a picture you publish can sue you if the publication harms their legitimate interests, and the caption and surrounding context count against you - so get consent before you put a stranger on Instagram. Separately, secretly recording someone''s intimate areas, or someone inside a home or a screened-off private space, is a crime carrying up to 6 months in prison, rising to 12 months if you pass the image on or publish it. Filming or photographing a court hearing is banned outright.

para 120a StGB: recording - up to 6 months'' imprisonment or a fine of up to 360 daily rates; sharing or publishing - up to 12 months'' imprisonment or up to 720 daily rates. Prosecution requires the victim''s authorisation (para 120a Abs. 3). The daily-rate value is set by the court on the offender''s means: para 19 Abs. 2 StGB - "Der Tagessatz ist jedoch mindestens mit 4 Euro und hoechstens mit 5 000 Euro festzusetzen"; para 19 Abs. 3 converts an unpayable fine to substitute imprisonment at one day per two daily rates. para 78 UrhG carries NO criminal penalty - enforcement is civil: an injunction under para 81 UrhG and damages under para 87 UrhG, whose Abs. 2 allows "eine angemessene Entschaedigung fuer die in keinem Vermoegensschaden bestehenden Nachteile" (compensation for non-pecuniary harm). No figure is fixed in that text and typical award levels were not verified. para 22 MedienG states a flat prohibition and no penalty is stated in that section; the sanctioning provision was not traced, so none is asserted.

Verified Sep 7, 2026