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Surreptitious Recording: State hidden camera statutes

The laws of 13 states expressly prohibit the unauthorized installation or use of cameras in private places. In Alabama, Arkansas, California, Delaware, Georgia, Hawaii, Kansas, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, South Dakota and Utah, installation or use of any device for photographing, observing or overhearing events or sounds in a private place without the permission of the people photographed or observed is against the law. A private place is one where a person may reasonably expect to be safe from unauthorized surveillance.⁶

Alabama, Delaware, Georgia, Hawaii, Kansas, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, South Dakota and Utah also prohibit trespassing on private property to conduct surveillance of people there. In most of these states, unauthorized installation or use of a hidden camera, or trespassing to install or use one, is a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine. In Maine, the privacy violation is a felony. In Michigan, unauthorized installation or use of a hidden camera is a felony, punishable by a $2,000 fine and up to two years in prison.⁷

Several states have laws prohibiting the use of hidden cameras in only certain circumstances, such as in locker rooms or restrooms, or for the purpose of viewing a person in a state of partial or full nudity.⁸

Notes

6. Ala. Code §§ 13A-11-31, 13A-11-32; Ark. Code § 5-16-101; Cal. Penal Code § 632 (see also People v. Gibbons, 215 Cal. App. 3d 1204 (Cal. Ct. App. 1989); but see Wilkins v. NBC, Inc., 71 Cal. App.4th 1066 (1999)); Del. Code Ann. tit. 11, §§ 1335, 1336; Ga. Code Ann. § 16-11-60 to 16-11-64; Hawaii Rev. Stat. § 711-1111; Kan. Stat. Ann. § 21-4001 (see also State v. Martin, 658 P.2d 1024 (Kan. 1983)); Me. Rev. Stat. Ann. tit. 17-A § 511; Mich. Comp. Laws Ann. § 750.539d; Minn. Stat. § 609.746; N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 644:9; S.D. Codified Laws Ann. § 22-21-1; Utah Code Ann. § 76-9-401, 76-9-403, 76-9-702.7.

7. Ala. Code §§ 13A-11-31, 13A-11-32; Del. Code Ann. tit. 11, §§ 1335, 1336; Ga. Code Ann. § 16-11-60 to 16-11-64; Hawaii Rev. Stat. § 711-1111; Kan. Stat. Ann. § 21-4001; Me. Rev. Stat. Ann. tit. 17-A § 511; Mich. Comp. Laws Ann. § 750.539d; Minn. Stat. § 609.746; S.D. Codified Laws Ann. § 22-21-1; Utah Code Ann. § 76-9-402.

8. See, e.g., Kan. Stat. Ann. § 21-4001(a)(4); Me. Rev. Stat. Ann. tit. 17-A, § 511.

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