German ambulances uses QR code to avoid people taking photos of accidentes

Because it always causes disruption.

Sure, it's part of the inherent risk calculation when we venture out or interact with public space, but at the same time if I can no longer remove myself from that space when I want to achieve some privacy I think it's reasonable that society change the context of the space. At that point I would think that laws pertaining to the violation of privacy (like those regarding peeping-toms) should apply.

That being said, and going back to the "no longer consent to being in public", what about drunks, or children who cannot legally exercise consent? There's a million ways this can get very hazy very fast.

These days a “good” accident scene video will get you a ton of view on social media which translates to a lot of money. If someone crashes and is dying bleeding out on the road, the financial indentures for passers by is to stop straight away, increasing the risk of further accidents, and rushing to the scene to get the best possible shot of the dying person.

I honestly cannot see the problem in just removing that whole tangent completely by making it illegal.

The only proper action at a scene of an accident is to help out if possible or get the hell out of the way.

The first one reports arriving at a bridge where somebody was about to commit suicide by jumping. A whole group of people started filming it.

The second one reports that he's experienced people reaching over his shoulder with their phone to get a better view

1. Drivers are filming crashes and causing further crashes due to being distracted drivers.

2. Human beings are considered to have an automatic right to privacy in scenarios lacking a compelling public interest.

Speaking to one reason only would not weaken the need for the law, so take care to consider the wider concerns beyond just privacy rights alone.

Technically, if human privacy rights are legally enforced in the country where this law exists (unlike the United States), then the existing privacy law could be considered sufficient for #2. But having it on the books makes the judgement call much easier for the general (non-press, non-authority) public, and it also provides a clear warning about crash porn taken by first responders who find fascination with that sort of thing.

All around, it seems a healthy enough law given the context of their country’s human privacy rights. I imagine the press will find cause to argue the edges of it, but I’m hard pressed to come up with any significant benefit to the general public that is being set aside. Identifying such a benefit would be key to arguing that this oversteps.

In general, German photography laws are pretty strict. I like that it prevents things like Worldstar or /r/publicfreakout. People can still have a reasonable expectation of privacy, even when they leave the house.

[1] https://allaboutberlin.com/guides/photography-laws-germany

Further, I can't even scan the colourful QR codes in the video even with a dedicated barcode scanning app.

Seems like a useless concept.