Photography is a way of capturing a moment to remember for a long time. Imagine being at the park and seeing a kid on the swing set; one may think to oneself, “What a great picture moment.” But, wait, there’s no permission from the child or the child’s parent to even do so, even if the child’s face is unrecognizable. It would be an even easier task just to snap the photo and be on the way. Photography is a powerful style of expression and a valuable communicative tool. Photographers have the right to use this tool is public without any problems. Photographers, everywhere around the world, have come across an incident in public when someone catches the photographer taking pictures of them. Some of those people have a problem with a photographer having an image of them without knowing the photographer and without having permission. Most popular photographers have studied their rights as a photographer and can battle against the person who has chosen the argument over the photographer’s rights. Therefore, should photographers have the right to photograph in public places and to photograph anyone without their permission? Photographers have the right to take photos in public places without the permission of any person who happens to be photographed, because photography is not a crime.
The first source I found was a magazine article published in 2010 call Less than Picture Perfect: The Legal Relationship between Photographers’ Rights and Law Enforcement written by Morgan Leigh Manning from the Tennessee Law Review. Morgan Manning explains the concept of “war on photography” as a battle between law enforcement officials and photographers over the right to take pictures in public spaces. The law in the United States places few restr...
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...that taking photographs of things that are plainly visible from public spaces is a constitutional right. Another interesting point made in this article about photographer’s rights is that police officers are not allowed to delete you photographs under any circumstances. It is argued in the article that with proof that anyone having trespassed to take photographs can be charged with trespassing. It is lastly addressed how to go about situations, if a photographer knows for certain that they are obeying the law. American Civil Liberties Union is the nation’s guardian of liberty to defend and preserve the individual rights; this union also works to extend rights to those who have been denied their rights. It also comes from a very scholarly union. This article is useful because it is current as of 2011. The use of this article backs up the rights photographs deserve.
An image has the explicit power of telling a story without saying any words, that’s the power behind a photo. A photo tends to comes with many sides to a story, it has the ability to manipulate and tell something differently. There is a tendency in America, where explicit photos of war or anything gruesome occurring in the world are censored for the public view. This censorship hides the reality of our world. In “The War Photo No One Would Publish” Torie DeGhett centers her argument on censorship, detailing the account of graphic Gulf War photo the American press refused to publish. (73) DeGhett argues that the American public shouldn’t be restrained from viewing graphic content of the war occurring around the world. She believes that incomplete
One of the Legal Rights the Charter of Rights and Freedoms protects is: The right to be free of imprisonment, search, and seizure without reasons backed by the law. “In a undisclosed school in Canada, there was a sudden police checking, in which police dogs roamed around the hallway of the school to see if there was any suspicious substance or object. During the checking, the police fo...
At particular times in our nation’s history, citizens have been met with obstacles established by their very own government. These roadblocks,” large or small, can infringe on basic civil liberties ensured by the Constitution.
Pictures of a frightened family and scared Elian were captured in the home. This is unethical according to Chapter 6 of Media Ethics by Philip Patterson and Lee Wilkins (2008) which speaks about privacy and the difference between the right to privacy and a need for privacy. John Rawls theory of justice revolves around the adaptation of two fundamental principles of justice. The first principle guarantees the right of each person to have the most extensive basic liberty compatible with the liberty of others and the second principle states that social and economic positions are (a) to be everyone 's advantage and (b) to be open to all. With that being said, the media lacked an extension of privacy with the pictures they revealed. However, names of the family and people involved were not presented in this case study which makes one think that maybe they tried to protect the privacy of the family, but the pictures ruined it all by showing faces. With that being said, the legal and ethical issues involved in photojournalism in the area of privacy are
On the night in question Mr. Blake was a guest of Mr. Smith expected the right to claim the Fourth Amendment’s right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures (Fourth Amendment). This right was violated in many ways through the following; the police officers watching
Since the early history of our country, the protection of basic freedoms has been very important to Americans. The American voice on freedom has been shaped throughout history. The Bill of Rights was originally drawn up in June, 1789. On December 15th, 1791, the Bill of Rights were ratified and added to the United States Constitution. James Madison said that a bill of rights was good for the “tranquility of the public mind, and the stability of the government” (Burgar, Michael, 2002). Free speech and free press were most important to the drafters of the Bill of Ri...
In the article “New Study Casts Doubt on Effectiveness of Police Body Cameras. But Is That Fair?”, Nick Wing analyzes if cameras have an effect on police behavior. Wing focuses on a study in Washington D.C., that concludes body cameras do not have an effect on the police force or complaints made. Wing uses research to state that the issue surrounding body cameras revolves around if they are worth it or not. Wing’s article expresses the public’s confusion on whether to agree if body cameras do not affect police behavior, if they are worth it, or if they are helping better the police force altogether. Wing advocates body cameras are an asset to the decreasing police force and crude behavior and that the cameras will allow for a progressive method of surveillance.
”The Right of Privacy Is Destroyed by Video Cameras in Public Places." Who's Watching? New
Cameras have become a large debate in the fight against brutality for the main reason of privacy. It was said by Richard D. Emery that police themselves and other public figures should not expect privacy. They are always in sight and every action of an officer can be seen whether they are aware of it or not. It is an officer’s job to know the limit of force and to also report other officers pushing that limit. The instillation of cameras on officers and in their vehicle’s is for officer and civilian safety. It is also the only “way both the public and the accused police officers be more assured of a fair assessment of police actions” (Emery). Some departments have already begun installing more
The article by Elida S. Perez discusses the Police Union’s push back on body cameras in El Paso, Texas. Perez states the denial of El Paso Police Department to equip body cameras because they believe other funding priorities and privacy concerns must be addressed. Some of the top funding priorities that Perez states are “hiring more police officers, buying new police cars, and updating radios”(par. 5). In addition, the police union is also concerned over unfair disciplinary actions against the police officers because of any camera malfunctions. She added an example that explained El Paso Municipal Police Officers Association President Ron Martin’s statement, “sometimes emergency situations unfold so quickly that an officer may not have time to turn on the camera, which he fears may be seen as an attempt to hide what occurred” (par.
privacy and searches. “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches, and seizures, shall not be violated,
Malcolm X stated that, “the newspapers will have you hating the people who are being oppressed and loving the people who are doing the oppressing”. The media thrives for ratings and increasing the outreach of their shows and sponsors. They want to increase numbers of viewers and if they have to report unfairly or ignore some things they will do that. In bell hook’s article, “In Our Glory: Photography and Black Life”, she talks about how photography gave great opportunities for African Americans to combat stereotypes and show their true colors. However, as technology advanced and media outlets spread, photographic technology in black life turned towards a darker road. A road of oppression. While bell hooks was initially correct that photographic technology combatted stereotypes of African Americans, the media today perpetuates them for ratings and views.
Photography was first introduced in England during the late 1830’s, during the early years of photography, photographs were not judged on whether something was right or wrong, people believed every photograph they saw, they believed that a camera does not lie and that a photograph is a representation of the truth but photography is now associated with digital manipulation, nearly everyone questions the truth of a photograph.
ACLU. "What's Wrong With Public Video Surveillance?" American Civil Liberties Union. N.p., 25 Feb. 2002. Web. 10 Nov. 2013.
Horng, Eric. "'Camera on Every Corner': Protection or Invasion?" ABC News. ABC News Network, 29 July 2007. Web. 14 May 2014.