Protests by photographers have forced bosses of an Edinburgh shopping street to review their photography policy in a move likely to see managers back down, Amateur Photographer (AP) understands.
Managers at the Multrees Walk shopping area came under fire over the weekend after a video showed ?heavy-handed? security officers clash with photographers.
The crackdown on photography followed concerns that pictures of the shops may increase the risk of the retailers being ram raided.
Security staff were briefed to approach photographers on a ?fact-finding? mission.
However, AP has learned that managers are this week reviewing their policy and that this may result in what many photographers will view as a welcome dose of common sense.
Management now concede that if they ban cameras then they might just as well outlaw the use of camera phones ? a policy impossible to police.
?How can you tell the difference between someone sending a text using a smartphone and someone taking a picture of a shutter fixing, for example,? said Multrees Walk spokesman Steve Spray.
The news comes as photographer Antonio Musumeci yesterday won a lawsuit over his arrest while taking pictures of a court house in New York.
The US Attorney?s Office ruled that there are no federal laws banning photography outside federal courthouses.
Musumeci won $4,850 and the return of the memory card seized from his camera while documenting a political protest outside the Manhattan federal courthouses in April.
?Under the settlement, announced Monday, Federal Protective Service officers will receive written notice that no general security regulations prohibit photography outside buildings,? reported The Washington Post.
