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Madrid • Spain is considering a ban on photographing, filming or reproducing images of police and state security forces who are on duty.

Interior Minister Jorge Fernandez Diaz said the government is considering prohibiting the capture, playback and processing of images, sounds or data of security forces while "in the exercise of their functions."

Deputy Prime Minister Soraya Saenz de Santamaria said after months of television and Internet scenes of sometimes violent clashes between police and demonstrators, a balance had to be struck "between citizens' right to protest" and the need "to uphold the integrity of state security forces."

Spain's director general of police, Cosido Ignacio, said efforts were under way to secure such a ban.