More Silliness: Congressman Wants to Ban "Silent" Cell Phone Cameras

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: Lauren Weinstein <lauren () vortex com>
Date: January 29, 2009 12:41:20 PM EST
To: dave () farber net
Subject: More Silliness: Congressman Wants to Ban "Silent" Cell Phone  
Cameras


    More Silliness: Congressman Wants to Ban "Silent" Cell Phone  
Cameras

               http://lauren.vortex.com/archive/000500.html


Greetings.  As if there weren't enough truly important issues to worry
about, a U.S. Congressman has introduced the Camera Phone Predator
Alert Act (CPPAA) -- which would require all cell phones to make an
audible sound when snapping a photo
( http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/story?id=6750825 ).

There's no evidence that illicit "underskirting" photography is a
significant problem outside of Japan and Korea, and the law would only
apply to phone cameras, not the vast range of other camera devices
available, many of which are far smaller and more easily used
surreptitiously than a cell phone.

And as for the vast number of situations where cell phones are used
legitimately to take photos where a notification sound would be
disruptive -- even dangerous -- well, better not to mention those
since they get in the way of the fantasy on which the CPPAA is
predicated.

Also, given that many cell phones can now shoot video as well as still
photos, I wonder if this same Congressman would propose that all video
camera devices beep constantly when in video record mode -- just like
trucks backing up?  That'll do wonders for the audio tracks, eh?

Never let the facts and reality get in the way of political
grandstanding.

--Lauren--
Lauren Weinstein
lauren () vortex com or lauren () pfir org
Tel: +1 (818) 225-2800
http://www.pfir.org/lauren
Co-Founder, PFIR
  - People For Internet Responsibility - http://www.pfir.org
Co-Founder, NNSquad
  - Network Neutrality Squad - http://www.nnsquad.org
Founder, PRIVACY Forum - http://www.vortex.com
Member, ACM Committee on Computers and Public Policy
Lauren's Blog: http://lauren.vortex.com




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