Is it generally accepted to film other/random people in the US?

8 comments

1. If it’s in a public place You can be filmed. No expectations of privacy

2. Generally consider extremely rude(and sometimes illegal) unless you are on their private property or give consent.

3. In most cases that’s illegal here, and also considered extremely rude.

   Not that the laws and social norms stop everyone. There’s always going to be “that guy” who wants to film everything. Most Americans would ask the person to stop, but some just say “fuck it” and don’t care if some weirdo is filming them.

   It’s pretty much impossible to avoid, now that everyone essentially has a video camera in their pocket via their phones.

4. It’s completely legal to film anyone in public places.

   If you walk up to a total stranger on the public street and take a photo of them, that’s definitely rude, but still legal.

   In general, most people take photos of ‘scenes,’ as opposed to individual people. Or if they take a photo of an individual person, they do it from a distance. But it’s still legal if it’s in a public place or in a place where there is ‘no expectation of privacy.’

   So if I’m in my hotel room stark naked, and pull the curtains aside of my floor to ceiling window, and stare down fully naked for five minutes, and someone on the street takes a photo of me, that’s legal, because I should have had no expectations of privacy.

5. It’s legal here in the US to film people in public places such as stores, parks, malls, etc. As for people being cool with it I would say it depends on the situation if it’s just some random person filming their surroundings or themselves most people would be fine with it but if somebody is shoving a camera in another person’s face most people are going to feel uncomfortable or get mad.

6. >In many jurisdictions, if you ask someone to stop filming you

   Not really true for most public places at all. For following you it could rise to harassment or stalking, but just simply filming in public places or from areas of public view likely wouldn’t rise to that level.

7. If it’s a random person you are filming without asking them i can almost grantee they will be uncomfortable and/or get angry. If it’s on public property it’s legal, private property it’s not without consent.

8. You can place a hidden video camera on your property and record everything in view in your neighborhood. Tesla’s have multiple cameras on them, recording everything going on around the vehicle, while moving and while parked.

   We are all being photographed all the time. If you think about it too much, you’ll go crazy.