OT: Can you legally take Photograph’s/video of public places?

[paramount]

The United States, renowned for its freedoms, has routinely intimidated its citizens for daring to film in public, particularly when confronting controversial topics, establishing chilling blows to the First Amendment which guarantees free speech and a free press.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QyUXxkTnB44

[spdrun]

Legally, generally yes. But some cops have issues with people taking photos even if there are no signs prohibiting it. Fortunately, most cameras use a filesystem that allows for undeletion. Delete the pics/video, then undelete and post on YouTube to shame the pig or sow.

As far as signs prohibiting photos in some places, nothing new. We used to have a beach house near Belmar, NJ, near an (at the time) Army communications engineering research facility called ECOM/EVANS. I remember taking a bike trip with my father sometime in the 80s, biking past the place and seeing signs that said “No photography except by permission of the installation commander, national security act of 1950(?).”

Though I have to say that prohibiting photography in places accessible to the general public (bridges, train stations, etc) is fuckin’ idiotic since plenty of photos already exist online and otherwise.

[njtosd]

Paramount – a video that is propaganda-esque and viewed by only 300 people is rather a disappointment after reading the title of this thread. You don’t really want an answer to your question – which would necessarily be very complicated because the First amendment does not protect all speech (the many exceptions include defamatory speech, threats of violence or fraud).

[paramount]

[quote=njtosd]The First amendment does not protect all speech (the many exceptions include defamatory speech, threats of violence or fraud).[/quote]

and yet video/photography doesn’t fall into any of these catagories in general.

[njtosd]

[quote=paramount][quote=njtosd]The First amendment does not protect all speech (the many exceptions include defamatory speech, threats of violence or fraud).[/quote]

and yet video/photography doesn’t fall into any of these catagories in general.[/quote]

Do you understand what “the many exceptions include” means? It means there are a lot more than those listed. Those are three that most people are familiar with.

[spdrun]

The exceptions shouldn’t include “anything that some drone who some idiot saw fit to give a badge and gun to happens to think shouldn’t be photographed,” though. Photography should be allowed by default in the absence of any (subject to Constitutional approval by courts) law prohibiting such. Trouble is that a lot of cops and bureaucrats with an inflated idea of their own importance are making up rules as they go.

[moneymaker]

I suppose maybe the best way to film things is with a hidden camera like on 20/20. Perhaps one of these might come in handy http://www.frys.com/product/6679064?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG

[Author]

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