November 7, 2003
Cellphone cameras ring warning bells
Jennifer Wolcott for the Christian Science Monitor writes about the privacy issues surrounding camera phones and raises the question on what exactly are the rights of the person being photographed. Should controls be put into place to limit where and how camera cellphones may be used? And who are the legislators who are considering doing someting about it.
-- David Bentkowski, a city councilman and lawyer in Seven Hills, Ohio, has been in contact with state and federal politicians and hopes to influence legislation banning these phones in public restrooms, locker rooms, and showers. Taking pictures in places such as these, where one expects to be unobserved, is an obvious invasion of privacy, he says.
-- Michael Oxley, a congressman from Ohio and a former FBI agent, is also interested in this issue. He is the author of a bill already passed by the US Senate and currently being considered in the House of Representatives regarding "video voyeurism." It includes bans against taking and disseminating pictures of people in "sensitive or compromising states" in federal areas - national parks, forests, buildings, etc.
-- David Sobel, general counsel at the Electronic Privacy Information Center in Washington, disagrees. "Congress hasn't squarely addressed this issue yet, and it needs to," he says. "This is a classic example of technology outpacing the development of the law."
I have to agree with Nokia's Keith Nowak who "doesn't see any need for additional controls placed on wireless camera phones". Like with all new technology, there is some abuse, but common sense usually prevails and social norms develop. Legislation is not a good idea. Think of the Decency Act. [ Christian Science Monitor ]
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