N.J. Assembly panel considers bill outlawing photographing children without parental consent

[The Straight Story]

N.J. Assembly panel considers bill outlawing photographing children without parental consent

A state Assembly panel this morning considered a bill that would make it a third degree crime to photograph or videotape a child without his or her parent’s consent.

But the Assembly Judiciary Committee did not vote on the bill (A3297), and members acknowledged it may be overly broad and may not stand up to constitutional scrutiny if it’s not amended.

“We know this sort of smacks of the opposite of the way society is going, but this is why we did this and we think it’s an issue that should be discussed,” said Assemblyman David Russo (R-Bergen), a sponsor.

The bill was introduced after complaints this summer from Ringwood residents after a 63-year-old man was caught taping young girls watching a swim meet at a local lake. The man allegedly told police that he found girls ages 8 to 10 “sexy,” police told reporters at the time. He was charged with trespassing and petty disorderly conduct, but not a more serious crime.

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2011/05/nj_assembly_panel_considers_bi.html

[NYC Liberal]

1. What if it was a parent filming their child at the swim meet?

Would they have to get permission from every other parent with a child there before they could film (since obviously other kids would be there and in the shot)?

It seems like a well-intentioned law, but yes, it's "overly broad."

[surrealAmerican]

2. ... or a coach.

They might want to tape the kids so as to analyze their form. Having even just one kid at the meet whose parents didn't sign a release would mean they could be charged with a crime.

[Kber]

4. Every year my husband taped every play of every one of my son's football games

The coaches use the tape to analyze play. At the end of the season, my husband makes a "highlight" DVD of the best plays of the year and gives each family two copies (or more upon request). He does this completely on his own time and pays for all supplies himself.

He spends literally hours, days, weeks on the project and it's always well received and appreciated.

He's also very clear that the DVD's are intended for personal / family viewing and we all agree that they won't show up on YouTube or Facebook.

To continue, he'd need to get the consent of every parent on our team, plus the parents on the teams we play, which surely would not be given.

The league already has a rule that you cannot tape or photograph a game or practice unless it's for your team (i.e. you cannot "scout" another team via video).

During Baseball season, many games are played on weekday afternoons and I cannot leave work to watch. One of the other moms takes pictures and posts them (password protected) for the team. Same issue with getting permission, not just from our team but from every team we play.

Yes - this is well-intentioned, but it's a bit like using an elephant gun to kill a fly. There has to be a better solution than this.

[Fla_Democrat]

3. Gilbert Chan move to NJ?

http://www.kcra.com/news/15452125/detail.html


Gilbert Chan, a business reporter for The Sacramento Bee, surrendered to police on Friday morning. Authorities said Chan, 52, is facing child pornography charges.

Police said Chan was caught earlier this month videotaping cheerleaders as young at 6 years old during a competition in a suspicious manner.





No, age don't match up...
:smoke:

[LiberalFighter]

6. Suspicious manner? What was suspicious?

[Fla_Democrat]

7. Maybe

Holding the camera with one hand, while his other was under his trench coat? :shrug:

Dunno what happened with it, don't know how the case was ever resolved. Too far away to follow closely.


:smoke:

[Kber]

5. Thanks for posting.

I think I'll contact my rep about this. It's absolutely over-broad.

[LiberalFighter]

8. At sporting events will news media be required to get permission from each child's parent?

What if they aren't at the event? Did they forget that there are many sporting events that involve teams from other cities?

Will the permission also be required if just the hand of a child is shown even though the focus is on one child? Will some jerk ass prosecutor pursue this later on?

What about photos of events involving vehicles with children just barely seen through the windows or their hands showing?

How about photos of crowds with children in the crowd?