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2014 U. Ill. J.L. Tech. & Pol'y 59 (2014)
Crossing Lenses: Policing's New Visibility and the Role of "Smartphone Journalism" as a Form of Freedom-Preserving Reciprocal Surveillance

handle is hein.journals/jltp2014 and id is 65 raw text is: CROSSING LENSES: POLICING'S NEW VISIBILITY AND THE ROLE OF SMARTPHONE JOURNALISM AS A FORM OF FREEDOM-PRESERVING RECIPROCAL SURVEILLANCE Bryce Clayton Newellt Abstract Citizens recording police, a form of action that has been termed sousveillance (surveillance from underneath) or the participatory panopticon, has become increasingly common in recent years. Citizen media can have a substantial impact on policing and police image management-and thus affect public perceptions of police legitimacy. On the other hand, police departments are increasingly utilizing sophisticated visual surveillance technologies, such as officer-mounted wearable cameras, to document police- citizen encounters. In some states, eavesdropping statutes have been applied against citizens attempting to record encounters with police officers, often while these same statutes contain exemptions for officer-initiated recordings. Courts have begun to weigh in on the legal rights of citizens documenting police action-and the constitutionality of the state eavesdropping laws that prohibit such conduct-and have generally begun to recognize a First Amendment constitutional right to film police in public spaces. However, the continued proliferation of recording devices and smartphone applications designed to allow citizens to covertly record encounters with police officers in efforts to hold public officials accountable puts some users (perhaps even unwittingly) at serious legal risk. This situation presents a distinct problem-a problem of one-sided surveillance power and limited transparency that potentially threatens the constitutional rights and freedoms of American t Ph.D. Candidate, University of Washington (Seattle), Information School; M.S. in Information Science, University of Washington; J.D., University of California, Davis School of Law. The author wishes to thank Ingra Schellenberg, Adam D. Moore, Steve Herbert, Batya Friedman, and Ryan Calo for their helpftul comments, suggestions, and critiques of portions of this Article and the arguments presented herein. 59

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