What You Should Know About Video Surveillance Laws
Gone are the days when only the rich and the famous could afford modern technological innovations. Today, considering all the advancements, many electronic gadgets are being sold at more affordable cost, thereby making them available to a wider customer base. Such is true with surveillance cameras, which can be bought anywhere at prices anyone can afford. This gives homeowners and small businesses the chance to take advantage of having access to a system that can monitor any undesirable occurrences on their properties. However, it is to their best interest to have a full grasp of video surveillance laws. There are rules that must be followed to spare oneself from any legal liability.
Surveillance laws differ among states. Hence, it is imperative to check with a local attorney to determine whether your plan of installing a surveillance device is complying with the related rules. Laws can also differ depending on whether you are dealing with covert or overt business or home surveillance so you should also identify where your target surveillance system would be classified under. With overt surveillance, everyone, including the people being recorded have full knowledge about the existence of the surveillance device. This is an accepted form of surveillance in the United States but prohibitions exist for private areas such as restrooms and lockers. Again, there may be differences in the regulations among states that it is a must to become informed.
Covert surveillance, on the other hand, involves surveillance of people without their knowledge about it. Private individuals and business owners have benefited a lot from the use of hidden cameras as they now have extra eyes to watch over their loved ones and their assets, while they are someplace else. Most laws actually tolerate this form of surveillance, with or without the approval of the persons concerned. There are 13 of the United States, however, that forbid the unauthorized use of video surveillance cameras in private places. These states consisting of Alabama, Arkansas, California, Delaware, Georgia, Hawaii, Kansas, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, South Dakota and Utah mandate that photographing, recording or monitoring of private places be allowed only when the people under close observation have given their full consent about the surveillance. For the states Maine and Michigan, this act is a felony but the latter deems the crime as punishable by a $2,000 fine and 2 years or longer of being in prison.