Chicago Alderman proposes "zone of privacy" for city residents

Chicago Alderman Edward M. Burke has proposed a city ordinance requiring a 20-foot "zone of privacy" around city residents prohibiting almost anyone from getting closer than that to photograph -- with a camera phone, digital camera, camcorder -- a person without permission, according to an article in the Boston Globe.

Burke was outraged when he learned that Jack Ryan, a candidate for the U.S. Senate, hired a videographer to follow his Democratic opponent, Barak Obama, to record everything he said, everywhere Obama went -- even walking to bathroom -- in order to determine whether his campaign statements were consistent.

The Ryan campaign said it was completely legal, but the campaign has now reduced the level of filming so that only Obama's public appearances are being filmed.

Ordinance considered next month

The ordinance will be considered by the City Council's Police and Fire Committee and could be considered by the entire Council next month, the article says. The ordinance proposes a fine of up to $500 for anyone, except representatives of the media and law enforcement officers, who violates that 20-foot zone.

The Boston Globe quotes Burke as saying, ""It creates a privacy bubble around a person....We thought maybe we could create a code that if people are going to take someone else's photo in public that they have to do it in a way that doesn't affect adversely on their personal space."

Chicago's busy streets -- where people are much closer to each other than 20 feet -- could make the ordinance unenforceable. But Burke says his measure is designed for situations when people are harassed. "Who else would complain?" he says.

Not everyone convinced

Not everyone is convinced that such a regulation is necessary. The article reports that Chicago's Mayor, Richard M. Daley, ridiculed the proposal, and Obama said he doesn't doesn't whether it's necessary.

The article notes that the city previously passed a law making it illegal to photograph anyone with any recording device, including a camera phone, in areas where there's a reasonable expectation of privacy, such as locker rooms and dressing rooms.

In December 2003 I wrote that Burke has proposed such a law, so perhaps the law referred to by the Boston Globe is the same one I discussed.