Source: Arstechnica.com, Library of Congress (Thomas)
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Read Bill Text

U.S. House Representative Peter King (R, New York) has proposed a bill that would, as directly quoted from the bill H. R. 414, “require mobile phones containing digital cameras to make a sound when a photograph is taken”. Arstechnica has a short article about the bill, but I decided to also include a link to the bill’s actual text to complement their post. The bill’s text is short and sweet; it basically says that within a year after the bill’s signing into law, all cell phones that have a camera must make a noise that can be heard within a “reasonable radius of the phone” when a picture is taken. Also, phones made a year after the bill’s signing must have the noise without a way to turn it off.

This bill was written based on the finding that people can become the unwilling person in a picture in dressing rooms and other public places. While this bill obviously does not prevent someone from taking a picture, it will let you know that someone has taken a picture. I feel like an option like this will not hurt, even if it does not help the situation. At least you would know that someone took a picture of you. My phone is forced to make a sound when a picture is taken, which annoyed me at first. I eventually saw the reasoning for such a thing, however.

The bill doesn’t seem to be going very far, but I hope that Congress gives it some consideration. At the most, this would be a slight annoyance for cell phone companies to incorporate. Other than that, making such a change would be no big deal.