ISPLA has been representing investigative and security professionals regarding a bill about which we previously issued an alert soon after its introduction on April 15.
S. 3214, the Surreptitious Video Surveillance Act introduced by Sen. Arlen Specter (D-PA), if enacted, would amend Title III of the Omnibus Crime and Control Act of 1968 as amended by the Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986, otherwise known as the Wiretap Act. It would treat certain video surveillance as electronic surveillance under wire communications with prohibitions where a subject would have reasonable expectation of privacy. Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI) and Sen. Ted Kaufman (D-DE) are cosponsors.
On April 25, ISPLA member Stuart Drobny met with Senator Specter in Pennsylvania and was instrumental in setting up a conference for May 10 in Washington, DC. He will be joined by Bruce Hulme, ISPLA Director of Government Affairs, who will be discussing further aspects of this legislation with the Minority Counsel for the Senate Subcommittee on Crime and Drugs of the Committee on the Judiciary. ISPLA will continue working with colleagues to ensure that the final bill does not restrict use of video surveillance in areas where there is no expectation of privacy for security purposes, crime prevention, or crime detection. In addition, NCISS Washington D.C. representative Larry Sabbath will also be attending this meeting.
This bill arose from an incident involving the Lower Merion School District’s provision of laptop computers use by students at Harrington High School in Pennsylvania. The computers, activated remotely by school officials, displayed images of a student in his home that appeared to show him using drugs. Civil litigation ensued, along with extensive media coverage. According to the McClatchy Newspapers, the school system secretly captured “thousands of images of webcam pictures and screen shots” as well as creating a record of the websites visited by the students and excerpts of their online chats. That was followed by a U.S. Senate Judiciary subcommittee hearing on March 29 and the introduction of S 3214 by Senator Specter on April 15. ISPLA has reviewed testimony of all witnesses at that hearing.
This is another example of ISPLA’s involvement during the early stages of the introduction of legislation. We are working closely with stakeholders in allied professional associations and corporate investigators, to whom we gave early notice of this bill. We are also working with their lobbyists in addressing this important legislative issue.
ISPLA hopes that the recipients of this message will join and support ISPLA in its legislative efforts to make certain that any possible unintended consequences of this legislation are not extended to present legitimate uses of video surveillance of subjects by investigators or in the use of fixed visual monitoring for security purposes. Federal legislation was previously passed that addresses some of the problems that the sponsors of the bill seek to solve. In 2004, the Video Voyeurism Prevention Act was enacted. As one of the witnesses testifying at the recent hearing indicated, that statute prohibits certain privacy intrusions without prohibiting legitimate use of silent video surveillance as a security measure. ISPLA will be working to address possible language changes in the bill’s current definition of the prohibited uses of “video surveillance.”
To keep abreast of these bills and other legislative issues impacting the investigative and security professions, visit www.ispla.org Applications for membership may be completed on line. Annual dues of $99 may be paid on line by credit card or by mail by personal or company check. Membership will be in effect for one year from the date of your application.
ISPLA
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Lansing, Michigan 48933
isplavoice@gmail.com