Submitted by GirlWithOnei t3_113a34r in washingtondc
Nothing new but as a heads up there’s a guy getting a kick out of filming (phone camera in front pocket) women on the metro center platform. He’s wearing a blue fleece and a black smithsonian baseball cap. He starts by asking for directions and ends with trying to get a rise out of you by talking about doing porn. He was pretty open and brazen about it so if you can avoid him it’s for the best.
Oh nah fucking weirdo, definitely take a pic next time and shame him. We need to start public shaming creeps - these people post those vids on social media to their private pages
Oh trust me I thought of that the minute it was too late. He started walking away as soon as I raised my voice with “I dont consent to being filmed” and by then I was just happy he was leaving
Pepper spray the miscreants.
Please don't use pepper spray on the Metro. While I love the spicy southwestern flavor of chilis, not in the eyes!
Don't start none, won't be none.
I believe they're referencing that by using pepper spray in the station, you're not just spraying the intended target, but everyone else since it's an enclosed space.
So by "don't start none, won't be none", you are, in fact, starting.
Hey, if you don't want to defend yourself, enjoy your day.
Oh, I’d defend myself against you since you’re “starting”.
Is this vlogging? Seems like harassment.
It’s definitely harassment but while that I narrowly avoid most days I’m usually not filmed during it 🤷♀️
If you want to garner more attention you should probably change the title to man filming women. Vlogging is almost entirely seen as an innocuous activity
You can't change titles on Reddit.
Yeah repost
"vlogger". Back in my day we called them creepers.
It's not illegal to film in public but the guy has taken it way too far with the porn stuff and is testing limits. He is maybe only a step or two away from actual sexual assault. If you see him, quietly disengage and report it to the station master or Metro Police.
if it was in maryland you need two-way consent to record. i know this is DC but just an fyi
edit this law is only for private convos
This is not true. There are virtually no public spaces where it is illegal to film/photograph in the United States. It's First Amendment protected activity. There is no reasonable expectation of privacy in any public space, or most spaces readily visible from public spaces (i.e. seen without obstruction from a public sidewalk, etc.)
That said, his other speech could very well constitute sexual harassment, so it bears being reported. But simply filming in public is in no way illegal, and you do not need consent to do so.
Please don't give bad information confidently stated as fact. It makes life harder for people who legitimately film/photograph in public.
I misunderstood that law. Thanks for correcting me
Ugh. Can we try to get something on the legislative agenda surrounding privacy rights and prohibiting people from doing this?
It's just one of those things that feels like shouldn't be legal but technically is because the technology that enables it came to fruition quicker than updates to laws do.
The First Amendment might take issue with this proposal. There's no reasonable expectation of privacy in public. Full stop. This is decided law. And for good reason! Prohibiting filming in public is like a fascist's/cop's/corrupt politician's wet dream.
In a city like DC, you should always assume you're in someone's photo or video. Not to mention that we're probably one of the most surveilled cities in the country. You're always on video. It's very unlikely that we're going to legislate a limit on First Amendment protections. Hell, we've decided that the First Amendment's definition is so broad, even corporate money is speech, so...
The other parts of this dude's behavior should be (and probably are) illegal, but you seem like you're focused on the wrong thing.
Understood. I think the key part that I have a problem with is not the recording part. I'm totally fine being on surveillance cam, or merely one body in a crowd if someone is taking a picture/video of a street, public park, crowded bar, etc.
What pisses me off to no end is when someone is explicitly filming your face, speech, mannerisms and interactions without consent, then posting it on their own social platform for views/clicks/likes/ad revenue/etc. That's the part where it feels like MY likeness is being used to promote YOUR social media channel, without my consent. I feel like there are some more nuanced laws about this, no? It certainly doesn't stop anyone though. Just a pet peeve of mine because it's so lame. Like, film yourself if you want to use the footage to promote YOUR shit.
It bothers me, too. I'm a photographer and while I was taking long exposures on medium format film of the Tidal Basin, two teenagers filmed me and insinuated I was a creep because my camera "is big" (I had a long lens on). I'm sure it went on a tiktok or IG story or something. That kind of sucks. But it's also kind of unavoidable. People are going to be assholes whether it's filmed or not. I do think we could do a better job of preventing malicious use of a private/non-public figure's likenesses. Just don't think we can actually do that until the likeness is used maliciously. It can't be done by preventing the filming in the first place.
People who confuse the first amendment with the requirements to get a release when using something for pecuniary purposes are absolutely wild to me.
Uh, no. anything that has to do with protecting women (or minority groups) will never be enacted.
These are the moments that I am so grateful my 5'2" pixie of a daughter has been taking kickboxing and muay thai for like 7 years. Tiny, but an absolute powerhouse. I don't want her to compete, but I would love for her to one freaking give one of these guys a beat down.
puttinonthefoil t1_j8p8j4q wrote
For future reference, https://www.wmata.com/about/transit-police/contact-us.cfm
You can send a text message to Metro Transit Police at 696873 (MyMTPD).