Recently in Australia a “home-video” has surfaced of a female celebrity in bed with her ex-boyfriend ‘doing the deed’. The camera appears to be hidden, and only the guy appears to know it is there because he looks at it a few times where as the girl doesn’t look at it once.
The guy in the film has distributed copies of this video and I have heard that he can’t get in trouble for it because secret videotaping, if done in your own home, is legal. I have heard that this rule also applies in the US.
Is this true? You can secretly video tape someone in your home home without telling them and then do as you wish with the video?
IIRC - A guy at Disney was arrested for videotaping the women’s dressing room (hid in a dumbwaiter). They could not charge him for the videotaping, but because there were conversations recorded on the tape, they charged him with something akin to eavesdropping (not sure of the exact charge, but it had to do with illegally taping a conversation w/o knowledge or consent).
Contrarily, a few years ago in another state, a senior from my old high school was arrested and convicted of several charges after videotaping, without their knowledge or consent, himself having sex with different girls from the high school at his house (one at a time!). He was caught after bringing some of his guy friends home during the lunch hour to watch the videos, and someone bragged on it. I believe only one charge dealt with statuatory rape, and the rest of the charges dealt with illegal taping without consent.
[IIRC, he lost a full football scholarship to a major university - they dropped him very quickly upon hearing about the charges and evidence; as well, he spent at least a year in jail. I think he works for his dad, now.]
Some of the laws are changing because the technology is changing (smaller cheaper spy cameras, camcorders, etc.) and people are putting them to improper use.
Some of it is common sense and your intended use of the video. For example, if you put a hidden camera in the nursery to see if and when the babysitter checks on the baby, then that would be okay. If you put the hidden camera in the bathroom to see what color underpants the babysitter wears, then that wouldn’t be okay, since you’ve invaded her privacy, even if it is in your own home.
The laws they apply vary from state to state. I think where laws aren’t quite up to speed with the technology, they apply the “wiretapping” charge, in that you recorded someone’s conversation without their permission, regardless of what’s on the video.
What is really scary is that employers can do just about anything they want where you work, including bathroom surveillence, under the pretense of wanting to catch employees using drugs in the bathroom stall. I know I always think of my former VP when I take a big stinkin’ dump!
I remember seeing something on like 20/20 or something. A guy who was renting houses to people was recording the women who lived there. He was eventually discovered, but they couldn’t prosecute because there was no sound. I don’t remember what state it was in, but if anybody else saw this, they might be able to give you more info.