California signs new anti-paparazzi legislation into law

California has signed into law legislation which seeks to provide new remedies for invasion of privacy and higher penalties for reckless driving by members of the paparrazi.

The new measures will mean that photographers can be sentenced to up to a year in prison for reckless driving while trying to photograph or film people. The law will come into effect at the start of January, according to a post on by the International Forum for Responsible Media Blog.

Inforrm also refers to Clause 1(b) which clarifies liabilities for invasion of privacy in reference to surveillance techniques:

A person is liable for constructive invasion of privacy when the defendant attempts to capture, in a manner that is offensive to a reasonable person, any type of visual image, sound recording,or other physical impression of the plaintiff engaging in a personal or familial activity under circumstances in which the plaintiff had a reasonable expectation of privacy, through the use of a visual or auditory enhancing device, regardless of whether there is a physical trespass, if this image, sound recording, or other physical impression could not have been achieved without a trespass unless the visual or auditory enhancing device was used.

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