14 Aug California May Reign in Paparazzi Photographing Celebs’ Children

My law firm is based in Los Angeles and I spend quite a bit of time there. When you arrive at a restaurant, it’s easy to know when celebrities are inside. The paparazzi are outside. Of course celebrities have a love/hate relationship with the probably too intrusive photographers desperate to catch an unguarded moment. Stars need them for self-promotion but often sacrifice big chunks of their privacy in the process. They camp out at their homes, and more and more following their kids to school. This does not seem to have stopped even after Britain’s Princess Diana was killed in a car accident trying to avoid paparazzi.

The California legislature is now considering a bill that would prohibit any photographer from taking pictures of children without their parents’ permission. Halle Berry and Jennifer Garner testified yesterday strongly in favor of the bill. They made a choice in their careers, they say, but their children did not. During Berry’s custody battle, a photog asked their young daughter, “How do you feel about the fact that you may never see your father again?” Many photographers, I’m sure, are respectful and keep appropriate distances. But apparently too many do not.

Gathering “the news” is important, even entertainment news. The first amendment is critical and to be protected. But I’m also big on protecting privacy, and kids. This is a tough constitutional balance, but I say privacy and kids should win here. I get the slippery slope argument, what will they prohibit next? But lawmaking is all about finding the right balances and I think they can find one here.