WORLDWIDE AUDIENCE SCANNING LAWS

The following information is NOT official. ILDA is not liable for the accuracy of this information, most of which was compiled in mid-2014. Anyone doing audience scanning is responsible for following all local laws and regulations.

In addition, ILDA Members are required to affirm the safety of their laser shows, regardless of any laws or regulations. Specifically, ILDA Members affirm that

1) Pulsed lasers should never be used for audience scanning, and
2) If they do not understand audience-scanning standards or do not have the equipment and procedures to ensure audience safety, then they will not do audience scanning.


Audience scanning status in 50 top countries, as of mid-2014

A: Audience scanning requires a permit or other explicit permission in advance. This permission may be required by the government and/or by the venue operator. Austria, Finland, Germany, Scotland, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States

B. Audience scanning requires a permit, but permission is almost never given. (This was the situation in the U.S. up until a few years ago.) None at this time

C. Audience scanning requires a permit but this law is often not followed or enforced. Japan, Luxembourg

D. Audience scanning is allowed without a permit (no specific laws or regulations). Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, France (outdoors), Greece, Indonesia, Republic of Ireland, Italy, Mexico, Netherlands, Portugal, South Korea, Spain, Thailand, Turkey

E. Audience scanning is not allowed under almost all circumstances. France (indoors),

F. The situation is unclear. Usually no permission is required for audience scanning, but authorities might unexpectedly deny permission to stage a show on a case-by-case basis. China, Egypt, India, Iran, Nigeria, Poland, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates

G. Each state/canton/province may have its own laws. (This may be in lieu of federal laws, or in addition to federal laws.) None at this time

X. Unknown status. Algeria, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Chile, Denmark, Hong Kong, Israel, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Norway, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Singapore, South Africa, Venezuela

Selected country details

Our thanks to the following persons for helping to provide information:

Daniel Amaya, Peter Broerse, Włodzimierz Duval, Derek Garbos, Ryan Hagan, Jasper Hampton, Alex Hennig, Rowan Lee, Johan Lindell, Alain Neuens, Nick Ryckx, Andy Stentiford, and James Stewart

Anyone with additional information should contact ILDA, to add to this list. Again, please note that the information below is NOT official or guaranteed to be correct.

Click on a country to find out about audience scanning in that country: