Anti-Paparazzi Overkill

To put it charitably, state Sen. John Burton’s bill to curb intrusive paparazzi tries to solve a problem for which several adequate solutions already exist. SB 262 is overkill, an intolerable limitation on legitimate news-gathering operations protected by the 1st Amendment.

The measure sweepingly redefines the concept of invasion of privacy to include capturing any type of audio or video image of an individual engaging in a personal or familial activity that could not have been captured otherwise without physically trespassing on private property. In other words, no telephotography and no audio or video recording. Reporters or photographers found guilty under this bill would be subject to triple damages plus punitive damages. Moreover, those who purchase or commission this material--editors, agents or publishers--would be liable too.

The San Francisco Democrat’s bill is similar to legislation now stalled in the U.S. Senate. These measures are vociferously supported by a coalition of actors, directors, agents and others who feel victimized by physically aggressive, threatening and often reckless celebrity photographers.

The behavior of these paparazzi is something that almost no one defends. But it shouldn’t be the excuse to chill legitimate news gathering, especially when existing remedies--including laws against trespassing, assault and battery, harassment and stalking--already curb paparazzo excesses.

For example, the two photographers who chased actor Arnold Schwarzenegger and his wife, NBC news correspondent Maria Shriver, through Santa Monica streets last year were later found guilty of misdemeanor false imprisonment. They were each given jail terms and fined $500. Burton’s bill wouldn’t have even applied here since the chase took place on public streets.

In June, the California Supreme Court ruled that newspapers and television stations can be held liable for news-gathering techniques that intrude on privacy. The case was aimed at so-called reality television shows. In this instance, an exchange between a nurse, wired with a microphone, and a distraught auto accident victim was taped and aired without the victim’s knowledge or consent. But the decision has broader applicability and might give celebrities as well as the general public new legal weapons against intrusive photographers and reporters.

Meanwhile, Burton’s bill, which passed the Senate, will be heard by the full Assembly later this month. It should be defeated.