The Online Photographer: Arkansas Senate Bill 79
As if the various bills discriminating against people under color of religion weren’t bad enough, a new threat to photography and it’s freedom of expression is underway in Arkansas. From The Online Photographer, the best photo blog out there, comes this:
Your freedoms are under direct assault in Arkansas.
“SB-79 would require still and motion photographers to get explicit written consent to include any individual’s likeness—not just celebrities but anyone—in a photograph that is used for virtually any purpose within the state of Arkansas except those uses specifically exempted as Fair Use within the bill.
“The implications of this bill are staggering. For example, an image showing recognizable people posted to the Internet for a use that would not require written consent anywhere else in the world could leave you open to a lawsuit just because someone in Arkansas could view it online.”
A bill well worth opposing, as the ASMP, MPAA, DMLA, NPPA and other photographers’ associations are doing. But wouldn’t it be nicer if State governments weren’t stuffed with dimwits to begin with? I’d better not say any more.
More: The Online Photographer: Arkansas Senate Bill 79
The article goes on simply to link to this page describing SB 79 .