On Tuesday, the Senate Public Safety committee will consider SB 784, a bill that initially sought to criminalize the distribution of photographs taken in violation of state law.
The measure is a response to an incident from last year that gained national attention, where a woman posted on Snapchat and widely distributed a photo of another person naked in a locker room.
The woman who took the photo is currently being charged criminally for taking the photo. But Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer, the bill’s sponsor, thought the law was insufficient and sought to criminalize the sharing of the photo, even by the person who republishes the photo but does not violate the law to capture the images.
CNPA and the Motion Picture Association of America worked to fix the language of the bill so that it would apply only to the person who illegally captures the photo.
Sen. Cathleen Galgiani (D-Stockton) agreed that criminalizing secondary distribution of the images, which may be of public concern, was not appropriate and said she plans to amend the bill in the hearing on Tuesday.
In the Assembly, the Public Safety Committee will consider AB 1542 which would make it a crime to film the commission of a violent felony.
Assemblymember Matt Dababneh (D-Encino) introduced the bill after a teen was punched and the attack was then posted to Snapchat. At CNPA’s urging, along with the ACLU and MPAA, the bill will be amended in committee Tuesday to ensure that it does not criminalize the act of recording a violent felony generally, protecting a journalists rights to cover riots, police activities, and other incidents of public concern.
