Proposed Law Would Require Cell Phone Cameras to Make “Click” Sound   - 1,023 Views, 2 Comments

Summary: A new proposed Federal camera phone law would require all cell phone cameras to make a "click" sound when snapping a picture (to emulate the sound of a shutter snap), and would further require that there be no means of disabling the click sound. The proposed "Camera Phone Predator Alert Act", introduced by Republican Congressman Peter King, from New York, is presumably aimed at reducing the instances of upskirting, and of people surreptitiously using their cell phone to snap pictures of credit cards and other identity-stealing activity.

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A new proposed Federal camera phone law would require all cell phone cameras to make a “click” sound when snapping a picture (to emulate the sound of a shutter snap), and would further require that there be no means of disabling the click sound. The proposed “Camera Phone Predator Alert Act”, introduced by Republican Congressman Peter King, from New York, is presumably aimed at reducing the instances of upskirting, and of people surreptitiously using their cell phone to snap pictures of credit cards and other identity-stealing activity.

But the title of the proposed legislation - The Camera Phone Predator Alert Act - suggests that the real target of this protecting children. The question then becomes, is this a real problem, or is it being implied in the title in order to help raise its chances of passage? Is the reason that children are taken advantage of, and end up in child porn, because they are being captured on silent cell phone cameras?

Here is the description of Mr. King’s proposed Camera Phone law:

Camera Phone Predator Alert Act - Requires any mobile phone containing a digital camera to sound a tone whenever a photograph is taken with the camera’s phone. Prohibits such a phone from being equipped with a means of disabling or silencing the tone. Treats the requirement as a consumer product safety standard and requires enforcement by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC).

What do you think about this?

Proposed Law Would Require Cell Phone Cameras to Make “Click” Sound

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2 Comments »

  1. What a harebrained idea! Is this guy a Luddite? The next thing is a mandatory flash, I suppose. That way if you are too far away to hear the click then you will see the flash. Oops, I probably shouldn’t have said that…

    Comment by bigjohn756 — 1/27/2009 @ 12:27 pm

  2. What a load of rot. Have these people got nothing better to do with their time? Perhaps they should get out more!

    Comment by David — 1/30/2009 @ 11:51 am

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 This article first appeared on 1/27/2009
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