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Ethics and Legality of Publishing Rooftopping Pics

Typically, trespassing isn't even a criminal offence; it's illegal under the Provincial Offences Act. To take photos while trespassing is not necessarily illegal, unless the content violates laws such as privacy or intellectual property. The photos are only risky to the person trespassing since they can be used as evidence that he was trespassing. Otherwise, no one owns the rights to city views from buildings as if they were intellectual property; they can only be controlled by the owner's right to allow people on their property.
 
This is more an ethical dilemma rather than a legal one:

Are you ok with a person risking their life (scaling a structure without a safety harness or fall arrest device) and breaking the law or committing an offence (i.e trespassing or breaking and entering) in order to get a photograph?
 
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I'm fine with it as long it doesn't endanger other peoples' lives and he does it under his own free will. He has gotten to the top of pretty much every building under construction, so he seems to know what he's doing. The photos are spectacular, showing views that one could only dream off because they're typically seen by just a handful of people. I think they help people to appreciate Toronto and the implications of all this high-rise construction in terms of how we view and experience the city. I hope that he publishes his best work and that everyone sees these photos for decades to come.
 
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Northern Magus said:
Btw, do you really think megaupload didn't have some kind of disclaimer? Worked pretty well for them, huh?
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Equating megaupload to Urban Toronto? That's a completely nonsensical comparison for the obvious reasons. Just what correlation does the distribution of copyright materials have with publishing photo's that might have been obtained in an illegal manner?
Absent of actually being charged and convicted of trespassing and of establishing a direct connection between such an individual and the forum member who actually posts photos obtained during that act on UT, there is nothing but circumstantial evidence that any specific image reproduced on UT by tomms or anyone else has been obtained in an illegal manner. Furthermore there is no direct proof that this "Tom Ryaboi" person, if that is in fact his real name, is actually tomms on UT.

Anyways, I could swear that media outlets do this all the time. And as we all know its worked out pretty badly for them, huh?

For instance, just how often has the Toronto Star been held liable for remarks made in the comments section of articles? Or taking it one step further, Youtube actually hosts material that is clearly copyrighted! Not willingly of course, but just ask Viacom how well suing them worked out.

Given the degree of harm that rooftopping can cause others, I think it's clearly distinguishable from most other kinds of trespassing.
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I suppose you should tread lightly around construction zones then, you never know when you might be squashed by a falling rooftopper.


Thanos said:
Some people are beyond silly. Loosen up and remove whatever you have stuck up your you know what.
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Not possible, he's got it shoved pretty far up in there.
 
alklay said:
There is nothing "illegal" in posting pics of "illegal" acts like trespassing.
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My original point is the encouragement of this type of activity. It is dangerous to themselves, and others. They could fall. They could drop things. Items could become dislodged, since the building is under construction. It's just not a smart thing to do without someone official making sure it's safe for people who are not permitted to be up there.
 
Northern Magus said:
Ever commit an offence and post a pic of it afterwards?

I agree, however, that this discussion belongs in its own thread.
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Petty crimes are recorded and photographed all the time and little becomes of it.
Some kid filming a skateboard session in a place where its illegal, teens smoking pot on youtube, filming for commercial purposes on ttc property without permission, underage teens sending nude pics to each other, i could go on all day because there are endless hypothetical situations. no matter which hypothetical you go with, it is EXTREMELY RARE for any of these issues to be investigated. We live in a city of over 5 million, understaffed police force and a clogged legal system. To whoever thinks that tomms deserves to be prosecuted, i hope they charge you with J walking across an empty road, or book you for littering because something fell out of your coat pocket while walking. Its just as ridiculous as suggesting someone be put through the legal system (on taxpayer dollars i might add) for rooftopping. If anything were to ever happen to him, there would be no way to put responsibility on the builder or management of the building. Given tomms (incredibly awesome) portfolio, articles and photo blogs all over the internet, any investigator would see that tomms is known for taking rooftop photos and he was well aware of the risks and the fact that he isnt technically allowed access to the places he shoots from. Basically, tomms takes amazing pictures and knows the risks involved. No judge would see a court case based on tomms taking photos. I am done ranting and i sincerely hope we can get back to using this thread for updates and news about the building
 
someMidTowner said:
Petty crimes are recorded and photographed all the time and little becomes of it.
Some kid filming a skateboard session in a place where its illegal, teens smoking pot on youtube, filming for commercial purposes on ttc property without permission, underage teens sending nude pics to each other, i could go on all day because there are endless hypothetical situations. no matter which hypothetical you go with, it is EXTREMELY RARE for any of these issues to be investigated. We live in a city of over 5 million, understaffed police force and a clogged legal system. To whoever thinks that tomms deserves to be prosecuted, i hope they charge you with J walking across an empty road, or book you for littering because something fell out of your coat pocket while walking. Its just as ridiculous as suggesting someone be put through the legal system (on taxpayer dollars i might add) for rooftopping. If anything were to ever happen to him, there would be no way to put responsibility on the builder or management of the building. Given tomms (incredibly awesome) portfolio, articles and photo blogs all over the internet, any investigator would see that tomms is known for taking rooftop photos and he was well aware of the risks and the fact that he isnt technically allowed access to the places he shoots from. Basically, tomms takes amazing pictures and knows the risks involved. No judge would see a court case based on tomms taking photos.
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Oh spare me. Go commit an offence and post a pic of it here, smart guy. Better yet, make sure it's an offence that recklessly endangers both yourself and innocent bystanders. Like, oh I don't know, lighting up a small barbecue while onboard an airplane. Then talk about how you "know the risks involved" and think it's comparable to jaywalking.

See just how far that gets you. On taxpayer dollars I might add.
 
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Though sometimes repetitive, this photography really inspires awe as the city goes vertical. I hope it gets published so that it can be enjoyed by subsequent generations. All this construction is marking a very important time in Toronto's history. To let it happen without cultural works making us aware of the visual and geographic implications would be a grave disservice to the city.
 
'Roof-topping' leads to charges for 3 Toronto men
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/roof-topping-leads-to-charges-for-3-toronto-men-1.2943950

Three Toronto men have been charged after police said they broke into the observation deck of a downtown highrise to take photos of themselves.

Police allege the men broke the lock to gain access to the rooftop observation deck of a building at 18 Wellington St. W. at about 5 p.m. on Monday.

Det. Ryan Vannest says the three men face eight charges related to what he called "roof-topping" — the practice of taking photographs from the roof of a building, particularly one accessed illegally, whether for profit or fun.

Jaswinder Brar, 34, Eric Do, 27, and 34-year-old Tomer Ryaboi all face break and enter and mischief charges. Do and Brar also face a charge each of possession of break-in instruments.

All three are scheduled to appear in court in Toronto on March 16.

Vannest says "roof-topping" poses danger to the individuals involved and to the public.

"That's mainly the reason they are being prosecuted — because if they do fall, who are they going to fall on?" he said.
 
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