New Jersey Assembly panel reviews bill about child photography laws

A New Jersey Assembly panel weighed today a bill the committee acknowledges contradicts current trends, but aims to protect children.

The Judiciary Committee did not vote on bill A3297, which would ban photographing or filming a child when “a reasonable parent or guardian would not expect his child to be the subject of such reproduction.” Violations would be a third-degree crime.

As NJ.com reports, there was disagreement about whether the bill’s language is too broad, and members of the ACLU and state Press Association say the bill could impede free speech.

One stipulation of A3297 is that newspaper photographers must get the age of every person in a photo, regardless of their prominence in the photo.

The legislation stems from a case in which a man was caught taping young girls he described as “sexy,” and was charged only with trespassing and petty disorderly conduct.