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Hawaii paparazzi bill to move forward

Hawaii Senate Bill 465 does not yet include any protections for legitimate newsgathering.
As a national organization, ASNE rarely gets involved in purely state legislation. But when the legislation in question is as bad as Hawaii Senate Bill 465, we really have no choice. The bill, also known as the "Steven Tyler Act," would allow for the filing of a civil invasion of privacy lawsuit against anyone who captures or intends to capture photographs, video or sound recording of a person engaging in personal activities with a reasonable expectation of privacy.
 
The bill is aimed at paparazzi but also allows for action to be brought against anyone who retransmits or republishes images or recordings. It would also be punishable to direct, incite or otherwise cause someone to capture such images or recordings. Unlike a similar California bill passed a few years ago, the Hawaii bill does not contain any protections for legitimate newsgathering.
 
The Hawaii Senate Committee on Judiciary and Labor held a hearing on SB 465 on Feb. 8, during which Steven Tyler of Aerosmith and Mick Fleetwood of Fleetwood Mac testified in support of the bill (you can read all SB 465 testimonies here). ASNE is one of the many groups fighting against the bill, and we stood with the National Press Photographers Association in the letter they wrote voicing their opposition to SB 465
 
It appears the bill will move forward as two-thirds of the committee supported the measure, but we understand some amendments will be made to protect legitimate newsgathering.

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