CELL PHONE CAMERAS EXPOSED POLICE MISCONDUCT IN CAIRO; BUT HERE’S A SURPRISE: IF YOU SHOT THE SAME PICTURES IN THE US, YOU’D BE SUBJECT TO ARRESTA PLEA FOR A BROADER INTERPRETATION OF THE FIRST AMENDMENT
By Witold Walczak
Are cell-phone cameras an indispensable tool in the fight for freedom, or an instrument of crime? The answer, which may surprise you, depends on who you ask and where you record. For instance, in the United States police regularly prosecute and harass amateur photographers, especially when they are recording police misconduct, and courts have been reluctant to declare such photography to be a constitutional right. But the recording of government officials performing their duties, especially in public places or where they have no expectation of privacy, is too important in promoting human and civil rights to be left without legal protection.