Learners' image rights: publishing their photos and videos without legal risk

A group photo taken at the end of a session, posted that same evening on your training organisation’s LinkedIn page to illustrate your marketing: the reflex feels natural, almost harmless. Yet it carries a real legal risk if no authorisation was obtained beforehand. Image rights don’t disappear because someone is a trainee, an apprentice, or a training beneficiary — and for minors in apprenticeship programmes, the requirements are even stricter. Here is what to put in place before publishing any photo or video.

A right that applies from the very first photo

Image rights stem from the right to privacy, enshrined in Article 9 of the French Civil Code: everyone has an exclusive right over their own image and can object to it being captured, reproduced or distributed without their consent. This principle knows no exception for the status of trainee: whether it’s a group photo in a classroom, a screenshot from a videoconference, a video of a practical exercise, or a filmed testimonial for your website, the same rule applies.

Two common misconceptions need correcting straight away:

• “They didn’t object at the time” does not amount to consent. Silence or the absence of an in-the-moment reaction is not a legally valid authorisation.
• “It happened during the training” changes nothing either. Signing a training agreement or an apprenticeship contract carries no implicit authorisation to use someone’s image.

The authorisation must be written, prior, express and specific

Settled case law requires consent to meet four cumulative conditions. A vague or oral clause, or one buried in a document nobody actually reads, is not enough to protect the organisation if challenged.

1. Written and signed

Verbal agreement, even given in front of a witness, is hard to prove in a dispute. The authorisation should take the form of a signed, dated document, kept in the trainee’s file alongside their training agreement.

2. Prior to distribution

Consent must be obtained before the images are taken or, failing that, before any publication. Filming first and asking for authorisation afterwards reverses the logical order and weakens the organisation’s legal position if the person refuses after the fact.

3. Express, never presumed

A pre-ticked box on an enrolment form, or a mention lost in the middle of general terms and conditions, does not constitute express consent. The person must take a positive, informed action — ticking a dedicated box, or signing a specific form.

4. Specific, so precise about each use

This is the point most often overlooked. The authorisation must detail:

• the type of images (photo, video, videoconference screenshot);
• the distribution channels envisaged (website, named social networks, printed brochure, newsletter);
• the purpose pursued (commercial communication, teaching illustration, internal archive);
• the duration for which the content will be kept and used.

An authorisation given for internal teaching purposes does not, for instance, cover a later reuse in a paid advertising campaign on social media: every new use must stay within the originally agreed scope, or be the subject of a fresh agreement.

The case of minor apprentices

Organisations running apprenticeship programmes regularly welcome minors, particularly in the first year of a CFA (apprenticeship training centre). In that case, authorisation must be obtained from the holder(s) of parental authority, in addition to the apprentice’s own agreement once they are old enough to understand how their image will be used. The templates used by the French Ministry of Education for photography in schools follow the same logic and can usefully inspire your own form: precise identification of the context (name of the programme, date), a description of the intended use, and an easy right of withdrawal at any time.

A study by Milkaite and Lievens (2020, Journal of Children and Media, vol. 14, no. 1) on the transparency of data processing concerning minors in the European Union finds that information given to children and their legal representatives is only genuinely protective when it is phrased in an understandable way and paired with an easily exercisable right of withdrawal — exactly the two requirements your authorisation form needs to satisfy (see the study).

GDPR and image rights: two regimes that overlap

A photograph in which a person is identifiable qualifies as personal data under the GDPR, as soon as it allows the individual to be recognised. In addition to the image-rights authorisation itself, your organisation must therefore:

• have a legal basis for this processing — in practice, consent, which must then meet GDPR criteria (freely given, specific, informed, unambiguous) rather than just the civil-law formality;
• inform the person of the retention period for the photos and videos, and respect that period;
• guarantee an effective right of withdrawal: on simple request, the organisation must stop distribution and remove already-published content within a reasonable timeframe, including on social networks where sharing may have escaped its direct control.

These obligations come on top of the broader duties that apply to any training organisation regarding GDPR: image rights are just one processing activity among others that must appear in your register.

Where to fit this authorisation into your paperwork

Rather than creating a separate process nobody keeps up over time, the most effective approach is to build the image-rights question into the documents already signed when a trainee starts:

• a dedicated form, separate from the training agreement, handed out together with the welcome booklet and signed on its own — the safest way to prove express, specific consent;
• an actively ticked box (never pre-ticked) in your online enrolment tool, linking to the details of intended uses;
• for CFAs, a version adapted for the legal representatives of minor apprentices, distinct from the form used for adults.

This documentary rigour connects, without merging into it, with the strengthened requirement for loyal communication introduced by the Qualiopi decree of 1 August 2026: the visuals used to promote your courses must not only reflect reality, they must also be legally usable. A video testimonial featured in your marketing without a properly formed authorisation carries a double risk — legal and reputational — if the person filmed publicly objects.

What happens if you publish without authorisation

Under civil law, a breach of image rights is compensable without any need to prove financial damage: the mere fact of unauthorised distribution is enough to give rise to compensation, and a judge can order the content removed, potentially under a daily penalty for non-compliance. Under GDPR, the absence of a legal basis for this personal data processing can also be the subject of a complaint before the CNIL, independently of any civil action brought in parallel by the person concerned. These two routes are cumulative, not alternatives.

Conversely, a clear form, signed at the right moment and filed with the trainee’s records, turns a source of risk into a few minutes’ routine — amply repaid the day a photo needs to be removed urgently, or is challenged by a former trainee.

Take action

The Kit Certif Complet (€297, 14-day guarantee) provides ready-to-use administrative document templates — including image-rights authorisations for both adults and minors — to build directly into your enrolment process, alongside the procedures for all 32 Qualiopi indicators. Starting your organisation and want to secure all your paperwork from day one? The ebook “Create your training organisation in 30 days” (€67) walks you through the administrative basics step by step, or choose the full Pack (€347) that combines both resources.