Governor Schwarzenegger signed a new law which will lay fines on uncooperative paparazzi who “physically invade the privacy” of a celebrity in order to photograph or videotape them.  First amendment violation or a necessary regulation on frenzied tabloid culture that’s reached fever pitch?

The new law covers several different kinds of offenses.  Paparazzi can now be fined up to $50,000 for documenting celebrities in personal or familial activities without formal consent.  Additionally, if a paparazzi physically assaults a celebrity in order to get a picture/video, the victim can collect three times the damages from the assault.  The law also states that paparazzi cannot take images “in a manner that is offensive to a reasonable person” and cracks down on companies that purchase illegal photos.

Some are worried that new law infringes upon First Amendment rights or will limit reporters and photographers’ ability to collect news.  However, the law comes on the wake of high profile accidents of celebrities involving paparazzi or who claim the accident was provoked when trying to escape from overly aggressive paparazzi.  Ultimately, the government claims, these laws are intended to reduce the amount of public altercations and accidents involving celebrities and paparazzi.

I can see how this law may seem dangerous because its regulations seem so ambiguously worded or open to interpretation.  But if you’ve ever witnessed a paparazzi cloud it’s hard to deny that you feel some sense of pity for whoever is being shot and have wondered at some point if there’s any way to make things slightly more civil.  We’ll see how the law is enforced and what kind of impact it will have on the media at large once relevant situations arise.

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**Photo via people.com, licensed under Creative Commons**

via Caleb, 15 October 2009 10:00am | |