did you break the law today...i did and i'm pissed

[Saliv8]

What has the world come too? I was so pissed off today, regarding my afternoon at the beach. My family and I headed off to the beach today, we set ourselves up in a good place and the two oldest sons headed for the water. My two littlies wanted to dig in the sand. They got out their bucket and spade and I got out my camera. 3 shots into the afternoon and next thing a surf lifesaver has come over to tell me that I cannot use a camera on a public beach. Even taking photos of my children is breaking the law. How dumb is this law…..how come we as a society allows such stupid laws to be passed through government/councils. I can understand them wanting to protect children from being exploited on the internet and such, but this also impacts on every person that carries a camera out in a public place…its against the law, to take a photo in a public place

[beachluvr]

My family and I headed off to the beach today ...

Those reading your post here might be curious what country and what region you live in that would have such rules.

[capedeci]

so the only thing you can do is use a cameraphone :) there are no law that could stop us from using it

[Saliv8]

his makes for interesting reading
http://smh.com.au/news/National/Shutter-shutdown/2005/02/25/1109180112027.html


The Australian IT, 31/01/05
THE proliferation of cameras in mobile phones is set to force all states to agree to tough national privacy safeguards.
The move comes as the Beattie Government foreshadowed new child pornography laws following the furore over a Brisbane website that published hundreds of photographs of children without their permission.
Queensland Attorney-General Rod Welford told The Australian yesterday all state attorneys-general agreed that the privacy challenges posed by technological advances in mobile phones and the internet had to be tackled.
In NSW, community outrage over the suspicious photographing of children at beaches and surf carnivals has prompted a local government push to ban cameras from Bondi Beach.
Waverley Council's deputy mayor, George Newhouse, is proposing that cameras, including mobile phone cameras, be banned from the children's pool at Bondi, parks, changerooms and other areas where children play. The council ban on cameras would also cover Tamarama and Bronte beaches, as well as kindergartens, schools and parks.
He expected the attorneys-general would agree on national standards for child pornography offences.
Mr Welford is reviewing Queensland legislation, which provides penalties of up to 10 years' jail for producing child pornography and up to five years for possession. Under the law, photographs of children are illegal if they have a sexual connotation and could be regarded as offensive by a reasonable adult.

[capedeci]

dang, I have a naked photo of a 5 year me ! i'm gonna be jailed :D

the question is how do they ban cameras in phones? shutter sound can be turned off, and many model have swivel lenses.... who knows you are SMS-ing or you are childporn-ing?

[beachluvr]

So you live in Australia Saliv8? Does the entire country have laws against using cameras at beaches or only your local beach?

[Saliv8]

i have not looked into the other states. as far as i know, NSW & QLD have these laws. i will see what i can find tonight

[wheatridger]

Wow, what a sense of paranoia on the part of your officials. Makes me wonder how long it'll take until we're all veiled, like Muslims, because as I've seen it explained that they believe, "only what is unseen is not public property."

Here in the US, there often is a presumption of guilt, too. Last year I was "caught" using a camera near a school, by a parent who was sure I was "filming the kids" for some nefarious purpose. Actually, I'd just received a Pentax 645 and was anxious to check it out. I shared the cost with a photographer friend, and we had met at my kid's' school, halfway between our homes, to examine the camera. The other parent freaked out and fetched the principal. All was forgiven after I proved it wasn't a movie camera, it had no film in it, and that I was known and trusted by the school community. All except the other parent, she was still convinced I was up to something. I think she's been watching too much TV-- but so has our society.

The beach incident makes me wonder what defines "child porn." Is it any pic taken of a child in a pathing suit? Any pic of a child taken without a parent's permission? Without society's permission? The fact that some sicko might get aroused by a photo is no proof of indecent intent. I bet in the true cases of kiddie porn, it's not so hard to sort out the perps who are into this in a large, long-term fashion. Those are the folks whom the police should be concentrating on.

Yes, I have a daughter. I'm as protective as anyone, but I don't expect I'll be able to stop everyone from looking at her...