# Face Coverings, Cameras and the Law: Photographing Protests in 2026

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Photographing Protests UK: The 2026 Face Covering Law Photographs in this article are used under the Unsplash licence and are for illustration only. They do not show, and are not intended to suggest, criminal activity or wrongdoing by anyone pictured. At nine o'clock on Saturday 25 July 2026, a large part of Dover became somewhere you could be arrested for wearing a mask. Kent Police were expecting a march and a counter protest, and they used a power that was less than a month old to designate the area. According to the monitoring group Netpol, the zone took in ten council wards, some of them miles from the march itself. I have a particular interest in this one. Before I was a photographer I was a police sergeant, and on a Police Support Unit I worked as an evidence gatherer. My job at a disorder was to point a camera at people so they could be identified afterwards. I know why people at protests pull a scarf up when a lens swings their way, because I used to be the reason. That's why this belongs on a photography blog. The face covering law exists because of cameras. Police cameras, press cameras, facial recognition vans, and a thousand phones whose footage is on TikTok before the march reaches the end of the road. If you're photographing protests, whether that's for a newspaper, for a client or for your own Instagram, part of this law is about you. This isn't a post about photographing people in the street generally. I've covered that in my guide to UK photography law. This is about protests, which are a different animal. In this post (law checked 21 September 2026) What the face covering law says What it doesn't say The rest of the 2026 Act that anyone with a camera should know The human rights behind all of this Photographing protests: what you're allowed to do The police powers you're most likely to meet If you're press If you're a working photographer but not press If you're filming on your phone Proscribed organisations and the pictures you publish Thirteen real world scenarios How the professionals work a protest To blur or not to blur Facial recognition: where it stands today Scotland and Northern Ireland Timeline of key dates Key takeaways Frequently asked questions The bigger picture Disclaimer Photographing Protests. What the face covering law says The Crime and Policing Act 2026 received Royal Assent on 29 April 2026. The protest provisions, including the face covering offence, came into force on 29 June 2026. They apply in England and Wales only. The offence: section 157 Under section 157, you commit an offence if you're in a public place inside an area the police have designated, and you're wearing or using something that conceals your identity or somebody else's identity. The maximum penalty is one month in prison, a fine of up to £1,000, or both. It applies to everyone in the zone, not only protesters Read the wording carefully and you'll notice something the headlines missed. The offence is about where you are and what you're wearing. doesn't say you have to be taking part in the protest. A photographer, a shopper or someone walking the dog through a designated area with a scarf pulled over their face is, on the plain words of the Act, in the same position as the person at the front of the march. In practice officers will use discretion, but discretion isn't a defence. How an area gets designated: section 158 Under section 158, an officer of at least inspector rank can designate a locality for up to 24 hours if they reasonably believe three things. That a protest is taking place or may take place there. That it's likely to involve, or has involved, offences being committed. And that designating the area is expedient to prevent or limit those offences. A superintendent can extend the designation for a further 24 hours. Notice how low that bar is. The belief is that the protest is likely to involve offences. Not serious offences, not violence. Any offences. How would you know

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