Wiretrapping

[meadmaker]

In case you haven't heard, some police forces have begun to arrest people who are videotaping them under state wiretapping laws. The basic idea is that the wiretapping law requires a person to obtain consent of all parties being recorded before the recording happens

Comments

[pierceheart]

I can't wait for the same people who say argue FOR more surveillance cameras by saying "Well, if you're doing nothing wrong you have nothing to worry about" to trumpet their support of police officers on this one.

[meadmaker]

In fact, one of the citations in the PDF I linked was to a case where someone had tried to use the wiretapping law to declare a surveillance camera's recording inadmissible, but was shot down. It had something to do with the function of a surveillance camera being obvious, so he had no reasonable expectation of not being recorded in both video and audio

[pierceheart]

This has been an ongoing issue in MA, as someone was essentially harassed by local cops, recorded them doing it, and then complained to that PD for the harassment, using his recording of the police as evidence - they promptly arrested him. (Commonwealth v Hyde 2001).

I don't know that I consider police sitting in their government provided cruiser, while being paid by the government, to have a reasonable expectation of privacy. (consider that their mere presence is color of governmental authority)

I have none when I use government computers in the course of my job.