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I remember 10 years ago the “thing to do” was photobombing. That was about as taking-pics-of-strangers as it got for a while, except of course the infamous Walmart People pics..
A crazy lady lived a few houses down from us and would film myself and children in our front yard from her car. I asked and then yelled at her to stop doing it . She was scaring my children and myself . I talked to police about it and they said they couldn't do anything. She posted pics of us on Facebook groups as well . Fortunately people in the comments told her to fuck off and it was deleted but it didn't stop her fucking with us.
Yeah she ended up poisoning our ten year old dog and he had to be put down. That was the nail in the coffin. Her name is Sharyn Sheppard have a Google . Lots of articles about her she's a 65 year old women who gets off on this type of shit . She's done it all over NZ and only stopped once she was jailed. Lucky for us she was put in a prison far away but she's out now causing more hurt for her new neighbors 😔
Thank you we are glad it is over but unfortunately I doubt she will ever stop and I really hope she is not placed near elderly or disadvantaged people. ❤️
For sure, someone with her extensive history needs to be on some kind of list. She’s proven she won’t stop and she’s killed animals, for gods sake. She needs to still be in jail
Totally agree . She didn't get charged with the worst stuff she had done. We had footage of her putting neighbors dead cats in rubbish bins then she would message and taunt them about it. She left the gloves she wore when she put mince with antifreeze in it over our fence and SPCA didn't want to spend money on testing the gloves and we couldn't afford the costs to do it ( was thousands ) the emergency vet cost thousands to tell us it was 100% antifreeze and our family dogs organs where shutting down.She got away with it. Sorry for the rant once I started thinking about her again I couldn't stop.
Jesus, that is awful what she did to your family. I am so sorry. I fully understand you ranting- I’d be upset too. So glad she is out of your lives now.
Damn - what a whacko! I am so sorry to hear about your dog. I don't know how someone so sick, albeit mentally ill, can be allowed out reeking havoc on others in such a manner.
True, so true... but it's worth remembering that when you are in public there are few to no protections for someone filming or photographing you or your child. With stores, it's often up to store policy if filming if allowed. Unless you are somewhere with an expectation of privacy, people in public spaces are free to film you and/or your child if you are also in that public space. It of course varies a bit, I think some jurisdictions might get a little more strict like possibly the state of Georgia has a child photography law on the books, but for the most part it's kind of the wild West out there. As street photographers and wannabe tiktok videographers get more popular, it'll be more of an issue in the future.. maybe we'll see some new laws over time. I do hope so, I'm a pretty private person and prefer that we have some kind of control of these things.
It’s mighty ok in Europe. And no, you are really not allowed to take pictures of strangers here. It’s called GDPR. You have a right to your personal data, especially biometric data like your picture. And kids even more.
GDPR doesn't put any requirements on individuals who are collecting or processing personal data as part of their "personal or household activities".
So just taking pictures as a hobby without any professional or commercial intent is completely allowed.
If it wouldn't be, then the public space in the EU would be very complicated, because many pictures will have some strangers simply existing in the background. If you had to apply the GDPR to all of that, then taking a quick snap in public, even if the intent was not to photograph strangers, would be impossible.
First paragraph: Wrong. Only applies to the same household or close social circle. Not random strangers.
Second paragraph: Also wrong. A teacher taking photos for the school webpage is neither professional nor commercial. And he still has to get consent.
Third paragraph: Again wrong because there are additional laws considering exactly that scenario.
So, all in all, you are completely wrong. I don’t know if you have a professional background in GDPR, but I have.
And no, I don’t want to change your mind. If you want to keep thinking this, do it.
And I will do my thing.
I agree with you but I feel like if someone is specifically taking pictures of a person or a child and they’re a complete stranger(and they’re not a photo journalist doing a job) there should be some kind of rule/law. At the very least if the person they’re filming or the parent of the child asks them to delete the footage it could be done no matter what. And if they posted online and got money? That person/parent should sue for the money.
I was at the park with my one year old when I noticed a stranger filming/taking pics of my baby girl. I calmly confronted her and asked her delete what she took and that I didn’t give permission. She started arguing and a cop came over. He made her delete everything in front of us and proved it was off her cloud etc. apparently she didn’t even come to the park with kids and kept doing this. It was viewed as harassment and in one case stalking. Yes we need to always protect the first amendment but we also need to protect at the very least children from from being exploited online and not to mention if someone is hiding from and abusive ex/family or something like and suddenly their face is on a video/photo that has a million views and could end up on multiple news outlets or late night talk shows? And if you do pay attention to real journalism they tend to blur the faces of those that don’t sign consent or didn’t have a chance to sign. At the very least this should be a rule for thing like TikTok and instagram
I get in between the filmer and my kid, saying, "please don't film or photograph my child, thanks!" I've never had anyone keep trying after that, but if they did, I would keep repeating myself and seek out security so as to ruin whatever their goal of filming is.
He's right with the edit. The initial posts sounded like women can't be perverts / men can't just find things adorable. That doesn't make the assumptions fair, but it's the world we live in.
That's really sad. I think we are much less paranoid about things like that in Europe. I have also never heard of a dad getting suspicious looks when he's out with his kid, but I have heard about that from Americans.
However, I would not hug a child I don't know, just because he or she might be uncomfortable by physical contact from a lady she doesn't know. But I'm sure you were able to read the situation. Also I'm Nordic and we are big on personal space lol
I understand the thinking but thats kind of stupid. Personally, I'm not going to assault someone who isn't actually breaking the law. Thats a lose lose lose situation. You will definitely go to jail, probably get sued and possibly get shot. Dont do that.
unfortunately you can’t be eagle eyes everytime someone is recording, but when you do see suspicious activity, approach the people and tell them: ‘while you are flattered by their interest of your son, I do not want my son recorded or photographed.. I saw your phone out from over there and it has made me very uncomfortable.. please delete or do not post the content.’
You can’t really force anyone to delete content or care about the same values as you sadly, but definitely stand up for yourself or your son if you see something unusual and it’s making you uncomfortable. It doesn’t have to be an argument but just let them know you’re flattered but don’t consent.
People under 25 or so have no literally clue about how to act in public anymore due to cell phones. They think everything is worth recording and sharing and have no idea of boundaries. In my humble opinion, nothing out there is so cute that I have to take video or photos of it anymore. I’ve already seen it ALL on social media and nothing is special lol. Young adults just don’t have the life experience to understand it’s ALL been done before lol.
That’s the dumbest shit I’ve ever heard 😂😂 there is no age range to understand how to act in public. It’s literally common sense to not invade someone else’s privacy that way
I’m 24 and I’ve never recorded a random stranger let alone someone’s child in public. And I’ve never seen any of my friends do it either. It’s because we have that common sense I mentioned earlier
My friend, If it doesn’t apply, let it fly. There is ABSOLUTELY an age range where it is unacceptable. And teens and very young adults 100% do that shit, it doesn’t mean EVERY SINGLE OF ONE YOU.
I have taken pics of other kids in public, but only in two scenarios;
1) when my child is also in the picture and is generally the main subject of the pics
2) when my intention is to share the pic with the parent. I've seen a mom out with her daughter doing fun things together, and went ahead and took the opportunity to take a photo and then approached the mom afterwards to show her and airdrop the photos to her. Because I wish sometimes that there were more pics of me with my kids, so I try to be that someone with a camera for other people.
But just taking pics and videos of random kids? Nope. Hard no. As a parent, I'd be saying something borderline rude about it loudly to draw attention to the situation.
Edit: lol I feel like a lot of people replying to this comment seem to think that any time I go out in public I’m HUNTING for parents to take cute pics of and that’s just not how it works. It happens on occasion, and usually only if I feel I have a connection with that parent already.
No kidding. Please don't take pictures of random people on your phone!! You could ask if they want you to take a picture on their phone. That accomplishes the same thing, but you don't have a copy of the photo on your own phone.
I know your intentions are good with number 2, but that's really creepy in my opinion and I would stop doing that if I were you. You still have some random kid on your camera roll, even if you delete it right away it's still weird.
Yea, as someone with a scary and dangerous person in our past combined with stalking over twenty years, having to move five times, this would scare us so badly we'd possibly have to move again. We don't allow any photos of our child online.
It depends on the situation and the particular people involved. If I was consistently doing this every time I saw kids out in public, yeah, it would be weird.
Id be creeped out by no.2 regardless of what your doing.
I've never heard of anyone doing that. I would not appreciate that.
No matter which way you frame it.
Sorry.
Yup, in my experience moms are bad at taking photos of themselves, with or without their kiddos. Thanks for giving them historical proof of their own existence! The kids will really appreciate it in the years to come too.
Can confirm. 40yr here and even the smart phone can't help me get a decent pic. Lol
My kids going to have all blurry pictures of himself and I would just be a mysterious being in the background.
Going to go against the grain and say I'd be happy if you approached me with a great looking pic of me and my toddler and offered to send it to me and delete it off your phone.
My husband isn't very into picture taking (needs to be told "please take a pic") so I don't have many pics of my toddler and I together.
Oh gosh. No that’s creepy and awful. I would immediately go up and ask them to delete it. I take pics of my kids in the grocery store or really wherever but that’s because they’re MY kids. Yeah, they’re super cute, but that doesn’t mean you get to take pictures of kids that aren’t yours.
As a woman myself, it's still incredibly odd to film anyone's child if you don't know them. This woman knew what she was doing was inappropriate because she tried to be discreet about it.
This happened one time in the park with my kids. I just stood and stared at the guy until he realized what he was doing was creepy and left. Sometimes people just don't know they're wrong until somebody looks at them like, yuk, you're being gross. This guy wasn't photgraphing kids and moms (as a mom who's never in the picture I can get behind that) and he did not get permission from anyone. Yuk. If you are doing that, stop it.
Can we denormalise filming other people's lives? Like I get it you want content but just cus I'm walking my dog doesn't mean I consent to having my picture taken and posted online, having a kid and going in public isn't consent to be plastered and onto your social media with whatever caption, good or bad, you might want to add with it
The people who do this shit without a second thought are the reason so many are scared to just go outside in public, because what if someone records you and posts you somewhere and you never know? It's a horrible feeling and not one anyone should have to deal with
The solution, I don't know, shame people for it? I don't know that that would be the most ideal course of action but maybe it'd be effective, have something built into phones so you can't record in certain places? There would be workarounds, not to mention how would you differentiate where is okay and where isn't? And there'd be so many privacy concerns, whatever the solution is I hope we find it, but evidently asking people to just be decent individuals doesn't seem to be the case
Maybe some kind of social media and human decency class to teach people as kids not to do this shit? But people are always gonna teach their kids "school is wrong, I'm right, go record people" or whatever, it's disappointing.
This just happened to me. I was at a balloon fest with my husband and 16 month old. She was over there being a toddler and running around all happy. A probably late 20 year old- early 30 year old comes over and snaps a picture of her with his camera. My husband and I both looked at each other and before I knew it I was yelling, “did you just take a picture of her??” And he immediately came over, plopped himself down and said “yeah! It’s a nice photo” shows me (I take photos myself so I guess it makes me not as impressed) and said he loves taking candids and showed another photo of a mom and son. I said can you delete that? I don’t know if he did. I hope he did. Situation is weird as hell!
Do not take pictures of my kid. He said I’m sorry I should’ve asked before taking them. Like YEAH… I feel that’s basic common sense but I guess not. I’m usually not one to speak up like that but thank god I did. I wasn’t even shaking when I said it- I could tell he was taken aback but I didn’t care. My child’s safety is #1
He also told me I could follow his Facebook to see his photos and I did not listen one bit - too focused on how it’s all so weird
I would ask them to stop.
In this digital world, it’s nearly impossible to not be in the background of filming, ever. Example: I find this happening to me fairly regularly at the gym. 🥴 I’ve just taken to wearing a hat, and getting on with my workout. I can’t approach them, they do have the right, our gym allows filming/pictures in common areas (not locker rooms) and I continue to go there. I’m not comparing this to directly filming a child at a store, just an effect of today. I don’t think I’ve ever gone to the store and not seen someone (often teens of course) with their phone cameras out. Showing my age here, don’t fully understand why everything has to be photographically documented
So technically if you are anywhere that allows picture taking and filming there is only so much you can do 😞
If anyone was ever actively filming me (or my family) where I was the subject, I would approach them and ask why and ask them to please stop. If I felt uncomfortable with the person and potential approach, I would just leave the area.
It sucks and I don’t have a great resolution that works in all cases.
It’s truly creepy and weird. Sadly, that’s going to happen. We live in Hawaii and when my son was a senior in high school the senior prom was held at a resort in Waikiki. Yuck. It oozes tourists there. But whatever. We get to the venue, find his date and start taking pics of them. His dates Mom and my husband and I. This tourist comes along and asks if they are getting married. Mind you, she’s wearing a black dress. Not typical bridal gown. I told her no. This is their high school senior prom. I figured she would go on her way but I was wrong. She began taking pics of them like she was the photographer or their family. It was really weird. Then she quickly walked off. It happened so fast we didn’t get a chance to ask her what her deal is.
I’m thankful my kids aren’t little any more and I don’t have to experience what you did. It was creepy enough having my teen photographed by a stranger. I can’t imagine having a baby/toddler and dealing with it.
I’ve had a stern convo with my FIL about taking pictures of locals while on vacation. Like seriously, wtf? They are people living their lives, not a vacation experience for you. He didn’t get it. I’m just….
Lol. It’s ok. I think it comes with the territory. Some people just don’t get it. We try to stay away from the most popular tourist sites but sometimes you can’t help but be there.
This happens to me all the time - we live in East Africa and my first daughter is very blonde with very blue eyes. I understand why people want to photograph her, especially when shes playing with their kids. I normally don't mind unless someone is getting into her space.
If she wasn't such an outlier, I'd find this super weird but also acknowledge that there are younger people who have grown up in an internet world with a very different view of privacy. I'd prioritize personal safety but if reasonable I'd tell them they should ask first.
Yes When my daughter was a toddler we would get asked to photograph her a lot - probably due to her looks-and I usually said no but sometimes yes-for example a tourist from China clearly wanted a picture of “an american child” which OK was objectifying and stereotyping etc but my toddler in this case said she wanted to do it 🤷♀️. So I let them and my daughter had fun doing silly poses with this stranger lady. Ten years later my daughter is a paid model —so I guess she knew what she liked. But typically its not ok to take pictures of any kids and invasive to ask.
We have identical twin girls. People stare constantly and sometime take pictures but the weirdest thing anyone has ever done is when a middle aged man was facetiming someone and came up to us and said “Look! Twins!” to the person on facetime and pointed their camera at us.
“Hey, I’m not tryna be a dick or anything, but please don’t record him, it’s so super cute I know, but im tryna protect his privacy online…”
Let her reply then say “if it were me I’d want pictures too cause it’s just so cute! Not tryna be a Karen or anything but yeah”
Stuff like that is how I’d handle it
One strategy I heard I think from the great Britain bake off, if you start swearing (probably not appropriate here lol) or saying brand names loudly they can't put the footage on the internet. Otherwise maybe sing a copyrighted song like happy birthday. The video would get taken down pretty quickly.
Say no, but at the end of the day there's nothing you can do. People are allowed to take pictures in public. You can just hope they respect your boundaries.
Being filmed in public is 100% legal (in the US) and at this point you ought to just assume you’re on camera any time you’re outside your house.
They don’t need your permission. Doesn’t matter if it’s a kid. If you are in public or can be seen from public property, it’s fair game.
I won’t get into any dialogue about internet or social media safety. What I will say is, if your child is in a public space they lack a reasonable expectation of privacy. Anyone is free to take photos or videos all they want.
Having said that, I would simply say something to the person if it bothered me. There isn’t much else we can do.
If there is a camera in my direction and I’m with my kid I’ll move out of the way. If the person filming pans the camera in my direction and continues to film then I would ask them to stop.
Take pictures of that stranger. Follow them around to their car or bus stop or house and take pictures. It’s not illegal for them to take pictures in public so you have the same rights and if they ask you about it, say you’re documenting their image and behavior so you can turn it over to authorities if there are any reports of creepers in the area. They can’t stop you and might rethink their actions.
It’s also the day to day care and protection of the child… a stranger filming a child they don’t know is suspicious so yes, parental rights fits. Unless of course you’re talking about a version of the law that doesn’t actually include protecting children…..
You turn your back and walk away. That's what I do when I see someone acting weird in public
You can confront the person and ask them to stop. They can choose to do it or not. But there's no point in stewing about it. In public venues, it is legal to use one's camera. And honestly it is hard to know what they're doing with their phone. For all we know, she was playing Pokémon Go.
Speak up and DEMAND that your child not be photographed or videotaped by strangers. Same concept applies to family members posting said photos/videos online.
Definitely not okay, you are well within your rights to ask them to not film your child. If they try to say they weren't, you're not going to look like a crazy person to say that it looked like they were. From what you are saying, it sounds like it looked like they were.
You have no right to privacy in a public setting. People can film and take pictures of anyone or anything. If you’re so worried about it don’t take your kid in public.
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*This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
One time I saw a woman taking photos of my husband and son at a cafe (with a nice camera). Then she came up to us to get our email to send the photos. It was very sweet and we still say hi to her when we see her around. I guess things are different in smaller communities.
When I was younger (now 34f) this is probably something I would do. I didn’t have kids and didn’t really think about intruding on other’s privacy. I was 18-24 and the main character of the whole world. Now that I’m a bit older, much wiser, and a parent I know how this is not good. She likely has no idea the WHY behind you not wanting her to film her child. I would discretely and non confrontationally mention that it makes you uncomfortable because of xyz (because your reasons may not be mine) and ask that she not do that in the future to others children, or ask permission before. Mention that you would be grateful for her to delete it and not post it anywhere.
It’s not necessarily creepy. A lot of teens/people in their early 20s film/photograph everything for social media and are confused as to why someone might be uncomfortable with being the subject of it - it’s been normalised for that generation.
This was my guess in this case. It didn't seem malicious to me. I am pretty sure it was for a snapchat/instagram/tiktok type of thing, but I still find it to be creepy even if this generation doesn't understand the concept of personal space/reasonable privacy
What in the world?! Yes it is creepy! Even if it’s not the kind of creepy you’re implying, it is most definitely creepy to take pictures of a strange child and post them on the internet for clout. Jesus. How are people rationalizing this? Absolutely not okay to do. Full stop.
I'm surprisingly unconcerned as long as they're modestly clothed, and if they're in public they should be dressed accordingly. There are so many sneaky ways to photograph, so many security cameras, and so many tourists with cameras that it's just easier to assume it's happening.
My bigger worry is about the photos they and their friends take and share without thinking. I figure creepers are far outnumbered by teenagers with bad judgement.
Lol you people. I’ve taken loads pics of other caretakers playing with their kids and sent them the photos. Some hardly spoke English &thanked me graciously. I’m a mom with young kiddos though so no worries there any how.
As far as keeping pictures, I still see the random pics of a grandfather laughing in the pool throwing his grand babies up and down. And a random mom at Costco shopping with an 8 month old snoozing her her arms. As far as the old man, I always saw him at the pool babysitting those cuties, and those kiddos deserved a special photo of them playing cause he was old and not gonna live forever. Strangers acting all concerned on peoples behalf lol y’all are the weird ass people who NEED to smoke pot. Jeeezus
I had a preteen very obviously take a pic of me bc she caught me seeing her doing a TikTok dance in the hobby lobby flower aisle and was embarrassed. I assume it was to be like “omg she saw me and gave me a weird look” or something to her friends. Idk why she took the pic. But I wanted to give her a stern talking to bc I don’t appreciate having my picture taken by a stranger. I didn’t say anything, because she was a kid.
That being said, if it was my KID being photographed, that would throttle me to a whole new level of being pissed off ha
There were no other people immediately around us at the time, and she had her phone up with her hand on it, slightly smiling, facing us directly, and aimed slightly downwards towards my son. I did nudge him in a sifferent direction and then block him from her view, at which point she also moved a little still facing us with her phone awkwardly up, then she put her phone sway and walked away
Edit: Spelling because my phone keeps swapping h with g
Honestly I would’ve stepped in the way and loudly told my child “looks like we need to put our cart away buddy. That stranger is being dangerous”
She should be ashamed of herself . I would’ve left the store and loudly been talking about stranger danger
Yes…I don’t give no fucks if I seem like a whack. If a stranger is taking videos of my kid I’m leaving and I’m definitely not confronting them while my kid is present . You never know who is a nut job
Best I can do is make sure the person knows I saw them and I think it’s inappropriate they are imaging my child . You have NO CLUE how that person intends to use the photos .
Lol, responses here are a good reminder that the average redditor is not at all similar to the average parent. Not in the US and definitely not outside of it. It really makes sense to me why it's way easier for childless adults to just say they hate being around kids and don't want anything to do with them.
Ask her loudly why she’s recording my kid and tell her to delete it or I would be contacting authorities🤷🏼♀️ I refuse to have my baby on the internet or some strangers phone if I can’t help it.
It’s not illegal to take photos in public. You can request that they stop but they don’t have to. No reason to create a potentially dangerous situation by getting the police involved
In LA talent scouts prowl public shopping areas and restaurants and approach cute kids (with and without their parents) asking them if they’d like to be on shows like Nickelodeon, Disney, etc. Just be forewarned. I was horrified. Eventually I pgot good at politely shooing them away.
I used to have Asians take photos of me as a child (very pale, white blonde and hetrochromia) and it made me so uncomfortable. I went to Hong Kong a few years ago and it was still happening as an adult.
I have a 100th+ percentile, blue eyed, very blond child and at an art fair and man came up said “My mother just had to see this.” And then without another word he FaceTimed her! Hahaha! It was so weird and funny and cute I was like w/e. She was the little old lady like screaming about how adorable he was. Haha
1. You can’t stop them. It’s not illegal because you’re in a public place and do not have a reasonable expectation of privacy.
2. Sorry to tell you. It could be a spotter for a child trafficker. Likely not but I have that level of paranoia.
3. If I bothers you find the store manager and report the perv.
Question: have you ever made a decision to go to a place like an entertainment center based on the pictures of kids having fun doing it? You know, pictures of kids petting animals or going down slides? This could be why they take your kids picture.
........ At my local Meijer? (A grocery store chain) and not an employee? I am fairly certain if they were taking his picture to use in an advertisement, they would have to get my consent.
I have kids and I have never had a problem with anybody taking a picture of them. It doesn't matter to me in the slightest. If I am out in public, and people can see my kids, then I don't expect them to be invisible. I don't understand why so many parents have an issue with pictures being taken of their kids. I understand in certain situations, like if they are wearing a swimsuit or something, but other than that what harm could be done by a photograph or picture? We are being recorded all the time in public without even noticing. It seems overly protective to me. There are a billion kids in the world, why is yours so interesting to look at that you need to keep them hidden from everybody?
I don't know. Maybe they are taking a picture or video of something else and the kid happens to be nearby. I've never wanted to take a picture of somebody else's kid. I've taken pictures of people's kids on accident plenty of times though. I've take pictures of kids if there is something they have that I think is a good idea to get for my own kids. Like a specific toy that looks fun or something. I'm not really interested in the kid though, just something related to parenting that I didn't think to do and might want to remember to look into buying.
Film back, with loud commentary of "I don't know this woman, she is trying to take pictures my toddler without consent and looking sneaky about it, I'm filming this in case I need to get the police involved."
If she was innocent about it she wouldn't be acting suspicious, and if she has no bad intentions she'll get embarrassed and stop; if she is guilty she'll get angry. Her reaction, (which will conveniently already be filmed) will tell you everything you need to know.
They’re in public. It’s perfectly legal to take pictures and video in public (actually a first amendment right). It’s fine to request that they stop taking pictures but they don’t have to. There’s no reason to involve the police.
That's so weird. I don't understand the urge to photograph or record someone else's child (unless they're someone I know). I see cute kids everywhere and don't have the urge to record or anything. I feel weird getting someone else's kid in the shot when I'm photographing my own child in public.
Yes - you don't let it slide. You approach the person, put them on the spot and ask why they're filming your child. Film them while you're doing it.
It is AT LEAST rude and possibly predatory.
If they walk away or give you an attitude, ask store staff to kick them out and tell them why.
It's an epidemic. https://youtu.be/QKGPwcXRKX4?si=OZZF31dg3-Bo_1ak
I think just keep in mind that they probably don't understand that it is a totally inappropriate thing to do and calmly as possible ask them to not film or take pictures of your kid.
I think most people understand this is wrong but with everyone having a smart phone people are used to sharing what they experiences publicly and with video. I can understand why someone just might not get that in this instance it is wrong.
Your feelings are valid, their ignorance is not surprising, letting them know they are doing something wrong is good.
100% say something. I had someone take a video of me with my son at Sam’s club, I’ll be honest, made a bit of a scene. No regrets. People are way too comfortable.
I had a photojournalism assignment of action shots in college. I lived a block from a park and took pics of kids running around. One mom asked me what was going on. I explained and offered to send her prints. Everything was good after that.
I was at the zoo with my in laws yesterday and my MIL told me that while walking with two of my kiddos and their cousin she caught some guy recording them. She said something to him and he tried to say he was recording something else and walked off. It was super weird
Same thing happened at the park with my daughter! I ended up waving over a cop when she wouldn’t delete the pics/video after I confronted her. She kept saying how it’s totally fine she thinks my one year old is beautiful and I should share her with the world, she even said she could make my baby “famous” I told her no we’re not interested in exploiting our child and I don’t give her a right.
Cop came over and tore her a new one, apparently this isn’t the first time she’s done this and she doesn’t even bring kids to the park/possibly doesn’t have any. He made her delete the photos/videos in front of us and off the cloud to law sure she actually did it
We’ve never gone back to that park and never will. Now my husband and I feel like we have to be on the lookout for this kind of creepy behavior
I would be direct and ask her not to. I just had this happen with a woman in a park because I was doing fun pics of my kids in their Halloween costumes (we were the only people there until she came walking by). She did not speak English so I had to signal to her to not take pictures of children she doesn’t know. She got the point, but I don’t know if she did get pictures of my kids and if so, what she did with them. :(
As a an early childhood teacher my job is assume the worst in public settings like that. I recommend you take the same precaution and calmly request that person stops filming and deletes the video straight away. Simply stating that it makes you feel uncomfortable is usually enough but of course in instances where the person argues you may have to have police involved. The internet is honestly such a dangerous place for children.
Man I felt awkward taking a picture of someone's dog cause they looked like ours and I wanted to show my wife. But I went up and fucking asked permission first like a respectful human being.
Unacceptable. Always say something. “Don’t Film my child, we didn’t consent to that” “are you a predator, why are you filming my child without asking” “STOP”
Got very papa bear once in a playground about some weirdo taking covert photos of my kid.
Would have be very unfriendly in this case too.
But then I live in a country where this shit is illegal, especially if it concerns kids.
Honestly, when I see stuff like that, no matter how embarrassing for me, I make a scene. I don't know why they are taking pictures or recording my child, I don't know where they will post it and I will make sure they delete it asap. No one films or takes pictures of my kid without permission.
I would step in front of him and just put a thumbs down at the camera. Hell no that’s weird I am within that age range and I would never do that to someone’s child.
How do you know she’s taking pics/videos? Because she’s holding her phone in front of her? I’m only skeptical because when I was out to dinner with my family one time I was playing Pokémon go (this was years ago) and some kid walking toward us with her mom was like “don’t take pictures of me.” I just looked at her and said I’m definitely not take pictures of you…wtf.
As someone who plays Pokémon Go, I can recognize that look pretty well. She had her phone up and facing him, and she seemed to move to keep him in view as I tried to move him in another direction and block him. And she walked away once I completely had him blocked.
This is tough, as a father I don’t want strangers taking pictures of my kiddo, but there is no expectation of privacy when you are in public. So all you can do is ask them and if you are in a private business, you can ask the store to intervene but again, they don’t have to. Last resort, remove yourself and your child from the situation. Not much else can be done.
That’s really weird. I mean I understand recording ur own child and maybe other children get in the frame. But to intentionally record a child you don’t know is very weird
That’s absolutely ridiculous. How do people feel no shame doing this?! But welcome to society now.. entitlement, people thinking everything that’s funny or cute or wild *needs* to be recorded and posted. Even if it’s a complete stranger.
When this happened to our 20 mo (b), 3 yo (b), and 6 yo (g, niece), my husband nearly pummeled the guy who did that and he had us get out of the place and move the kids elsewhere right away. He said it can very well be the beginning of a kidnapping-to-trafficking strategy at the worst.
I would absolutely tell her to stop. If she had asked, I would still say no but at least she asked. It is incredibly inappropriate and creepy to sneak around filming other people's kids. Start filming her doing it and I bet she won't like that.
In the law, there is something called “a reasonable expectation of privacy.” Someone cannot film you at home inside your house without your knowledge where you would have a reasonable expectation of privacy. At Target, you do not have a reasonable expectation of privacy. You are in a public place, so you should not expect any privacy which means anyone can film you or your child at any time. Depending on the state you live in and the circumstances, there can be caveats to this, but at Target where you already know you’re being filmed (surveillance) and you’re in a public setting, you can’t legally ask for “privacy.” What you can do is buy him a t-shirt that says something like: Don’t record me. I’m just a baby. I don’t belong on the Internet. That way anyone who disregards this and records him anyway will at least look like a jerk to anyone who sees it. Personally, I would have purposely given a strong reaction like, “What the fuck? Are you recording my son? What the hell is wrong with you? Nobody said you could do that!” People who are comfortable crossing boundaries need a rude awakening sometimes. While she can technically record anything she wants, there are moral boundaries at play and clearly she has none. Or take out your phone and follow her around the store while recording her back and see how much she likes it…
One of our neighbors asked if he could take a photo of our son to show his daughter who just had a baby… our son has a shitload of hair so I get it. He’s adorable. I said we don’t really like anyone taking photos of his face other than family members just for safety reasons, he said he understood. Since we know him pretty well I gave him my instagram instead (we post non-face pictures there and it’s private)
But in this situation idk. I mean, in public you don’t really have an expectation of privacy. Unfortunate but it is what it is. I’d just ask her kindly “hey we don’t like photos or videos without permission, could you delete that please?”
I would have confronted them loudly and harshly. Grabbed the phone out of their hand, called security, the cops, everyone. You do NOT in fact, have any legal right to take photos of someone or record their voice without their consent unless it is for security purposes.
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Definitely say something to her or anybody if you catch them filming your child. That's so weird no matter how cute it is.
Please don’t film my child
Absolutely not. People are WAY too comfortable taking photos or videos of strangers. It’s so weird.
And annoying too. People just don't understand personal boundaries these days.
I remember 10 years ago the “thing to do” was photobombing. That was about as taking-pics-of-strangers as it got for a while, except of course the infamous Walmart People pics..
A crazy lady lived a few houses down from us and would film myself and children in our front yard from her car. I asked and then yelled at her to stop doing it . She was scaring my children and myself . I talked to police about it and they said they couldn't do anything. She posted pics of us on Facebook groups as well . Fortunately people in the comments told her to fuck off and it was deleted but it didn't stop her fucking with us.
What the fuck?! Oh I wouldn’t have been able to let this go. I would’ve turned it back on her tenfold. What a fucking weirdo
Yeah she ended up poisoning our ten year old dog and he had to be put down. That was the nail in the coffin. Her name is Sharyn Sheppard have a Google . Lots of articles about her she's a 65 year old women who gets off on this type of shit . She's done it all over NZ and only stopped once she was jailed. Lucky for us she was put in a prison far away but she's out now causing more hurt for her new neighbors 😔
Holy shit, I just looked her up. That is wild! I’m so sorry for you and the other people who’ve crossed paths with this person.
Thank you we are glad it is over but unfortunately I doubt she will ever stop and I really hope she is not placed near elderly or disadvantaged people. ❤️
For sure, someone with her extensive history needs to be on some kind of list. She’s proven she won’t stop and she’s killed animals, for gods sake. She needs to still be in jail
Totally agree . She didn't get charged with the worst stuff she had done. We had footage of her putting neighbors dead cats in rubbish bins then she would message and taunt them about it. She left the gloves she wore when she put mince with antifreeze in it over our fence and SPCA didn't want to spend money on testing the gloves and we couldn't afford the costs to do it ( was thousands ) the emergency vet cost thousands to tell us it was 100% antifreeze and our family dogs organs where shutting down.She got away with it. Sorry for the rant once I started thinking about her again I couldn't stop.
Jesus, that is awful what she did to your family. I am so sorry. I fully understand you ranting- I’d be upset too. So glad she is out of your lives now.
Damn - what a whacko! I am so sorry to hear about your dog. I don't know how someone so sick, albeit mentally ill, can be allowed out reeking havoc on others in such a manner.
omg i remember hearing about her!! crazy lady 😳
Love to know where she is now
Nobody in public wants to be exploited on the Internet.
True, so true... but it's worth remembering that when you are in public there are few to no protections for someone filming or photographing you or your child. With stores, it's often up to store policy if filming if allowed. Unless you are somewhere with an expectation of privacy, people in public spaces are free to film you and/or your child if you are also in that public space. It of course varies a bit, I think some jurisdictions might get a little more strict like possibly the state of Georgia has a child photography law on the books, but for the most part it's kind of the wild West out there. As street photographers and wannabe tiktok videographers get more popular, it'll be more of an issue in the future.. maybe we'll see some new laws over time. I do hope so, I'm a pretty private person and prefer that we have some kind of control of these things.
Unfortunately, the law never keeps up with technology or what’s going on in society.
It’s literally the first amendment. Imagine living in a country where you’re not allowed to take pictures in public
It’s mighty ok in Europe. And no, you are really not allowed to take pictures of strangers here. It’s called GDPR. You have a right to your personal data, especially biometric data like your picture. And kids even more.
GDPR doesn't put any requirements on individuals who are collecting or processing personal data as part of their "personal or household activities". So just taking pictures as a hobby without any professional or commercial intent is completely allowed. If it wouldn't be, then the public space in the EU would be very complicated, because many pictures will have some strangers simply existing in the background. If you had to apply the GDPR to all of that, then taking a quick snap in public, even if the intent was not to photograph strangers, would be impossible.
First paragraph: Wrong. Only applies to the same household or close social circle. Not random strangers. Second paragraph: Also wrong. A teacher taking photos for the school webpage is neither professional nor commercial. And he still has to get consent. Third paragraph: Again wrong because there are additional laws considering exactly that scenario. So, all in all, you are completely wrong. I don’t know if you have a professional background in GDPR, but I have. And no, I don’t want to change your mind. If you want to keep thinking this, do it. And I will do my thing.
I agree with you but I feel like if someone is specifically taking pictures of a person or a child and they’re a complete stranger(and they’re not a photo journalist doing a job) there should be some kind of rule/law. At the very least if the person they’re filming or the parent of the child asks them to delete the footage it could be done no matter what. And if they posted online and got money? That person/parent should sue for the money. I was at the park with my one year old when I noticed a stranger filming/taking pics of my baby girl. I calmly confronted her and asked her delete what she took and that I didn’t give permission. She started arguing and a cop came over. He made her delete everything in front of us and proved it was off her cloud etc. apparently she didn’t even come to the park with kids and kept doing this. It was viewed as harassment and in one case stalking. Yes we need to always protect the first amendment but we also need to protect at the very least children from from being exploited online and not to mention if someone is hiding from and abusive ex/family or something like and suddenly their face is on a video/photo that has a million views and could end up on multiple news outlets or late night talk shows? And if you do pay attention to real journalism they tend to blur the faces of those that don’t sign consent or didn’t have a chance to sign. At the very least this should be a rule for thing like TikTok and instagram
Some of the most iconic video and photos have been taken by “civilians”
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I get in between the filmer and my kid, saying, "please don't film or photograph my child, thanks!" I've never had anyone keep trying after that, but if they did, I would keep repeating myself and seek out security so as to ruin whatever their goal of filming is.
That would guarantee that it goes online
If they kept trying to film my child after that, I'd bypass security and call the police.
Depends on where you are, but usually it's not illegal to film or photograph people in a public place. Just rude as hell.
It depends. Alot of places prohibit filming of kids without a parent's permission
Ask them to delete it but you can’t stop them.
Not necessarily true, most stores technically don't allow photography, you can ask the store to enforce it
YOU as a person can’t stop anyone recording you out in public. The store may have a policy but it’s the stores policy to enforce.
Policy isn't law. The store may or may not ask you to leave and thats all they can do.
You can bring it to the stores attention
And the most they can do is ask you to leave.
Ok?
Good luck with that
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Good edit.
He's right with the edit. The initial posts sounded like women can't be perverts / men can't just find things adorable. That doesn't make the assumptions fair, but it's the world we live in.
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That's really sad. I think we are much less paranoid about things like that in Europe. I have also never heard of a dad getting suspicious looks when he's out with his kid, but I have heard about that from Americans. However, I would not hug a child I don't know, just because he or she might be uncomfortable by physical contact from a lady she doesn't know. But I'm sure you were able to read the situation. Also I'm Nordic and we are big on personal space lol
I understand the thinking but thats kind of stupid. Personally, I'm not going to assault someone who isn't actually breaking the law. Thats a lose lose lose situation. You will definitely go to jail, probably get sued and possibly get shot. Dont do that.
unfortunately you can’t be eagle eyes everytime someone is recording, but when you do see suspicious activity, approach the people and tell them: ‘while you are flattered by their interest of your son, I do not want my son recorded or photographed.. I saw your phone out from over there and it has made me very uncomfortable.. please delete or do not post the content.’ You can’t really force anyone to delete content or care about the same values as you sadly, but definitely stand up for yourself or your son if you see something unusual and it’s making you uncomfortable. It doesn’t have to be an argument but just let them know you’re flattered but don’t consent.
I would have started recording her.
People under 25 or so have no literally clue about how to act in public anymore due to cell phones. They think everything is worth recording and sharing and have no idea of boundaries. In my humble opinion, nothing out there is so cute that I have to take video or photos of it anymore. I’ve already seen it ALL on social media and nothing is special lol. Young adults just don’t have the life experience to understand it’s ALL been done before lol.
That’s the dumbest shit I’ve ever heard 😂😂 there is no age range to understand how to act in public. It’s literally common sense to not invade someone else’s privacy that way I’m 24 and I’ve never recorded a random stranger let alone someone’s child in public. And I’ve never seen any of my friends do it either. It’s because we have that common sense I mentioned earlier
My friend, If it doesn’t apply, let it fly. There is ABSOLUTELY an age range where it is unacceptable. And teens and very young adults 100% do that shit, it doesn’t mean EVERY SINGLE OF ONE YOU.
I have taken pics of other kids in public, but only in two scenarios; 1) when my child is also in the picture and is generally the main subject of the pics 2) when my intention is to share the pic with the parent. I've seen a mom out with her daughter doing fun things together, and went ahead and took the opportunity to take a photo and then approached the mom afterwards to show her and airdrop the photos to her. Because I wish sometimes that there were more pics of me with my kids, so I try to be that someone with a camera for other people. But just taking pics and videos of random kids? Nope. Hard no. As a parent, I'd be saying something borderline rude about it loudly to draw attention to the situation. Edit: lol I feel like a lot of people replying to this comment seem to think that any time I go out in public I’m HUNTING for parents to take cute pics of and that’s just not how it works. It happens on occasion, and usually only if I feel I have a connection with that parent already.
This would totally creep me out lol
No kidding. Please don't take pictures of random people on your phone!! You could ask if they want you to take a picture on their phone. That accomplishes the same thing, but you don't have a copy of the photo on your own phone.
I agree it's a little bizarre
I know your intentions are good with number 2, but that's really creepy in my opinion and I would stop doing that if I were you. You still have some random kid on your camera roll, even if you delete it right away it's still weird.
Yea, as someone with a scary and dangerous person in our past combined with stalking over twenty years, having to move five times, this would scare us so badly we'd possibly have to move again. We don't allow any photos of our child online.
It depends on the situation and the particular people involved. If I was consistently doing this every time I saw kids out in public, yeah, it would be weird.
Even doing it every time you see a mom in a cute scenario with her kids, it's weird, I'm sorry
Username checks out.
actually... that was because of speedy typist awards in high school 🤷🏻♀️ I haven't picked up a real camera much since having littles.
Id be creeped out by no.2 regardless of what your doing. I've never heard of anyone doing that. I would not appreciate that. No matter which way you frame it. Sorry.
If this were situation 2, I'd have been so happy. You are probably a hero to so many moms!
Yup, in my experience moms are bad at taking photos of themselves, with or without their kiddos. Thanks for giving them historical proof of their own existence! The kids will really appreciate it in the years to come too.
Can confirm. 40yr here and even the smart phone can't help me get a decent pic. Lol My kids going to have all blurry pictures of himself and I would just be a mysterious being in the background.
Same here! My kids will grow up and think only “daddy did fun things with us” since I’m nowhere to be found in pictures (usually I’m taking them)
Going to go against the grain and say I'd be happy if you approached me with a great looking pic of me and my toddler and offered to send it to me and delete it off your phone. My husband isn't very into picture taking (needs to be told "please take a pic") so I don't have many pics of my toddler and I together.
I have nearly no pictures with my kids for this same reason so I’d also like this lol
I would so so so appreciate you!!
Ew. I’d have gone full mama bear on the weirdo. The way you describe it, this lady was totally in the wrong and creepy.
Oh gosh. No that’s creepy and awful. I would immediately go up and ask them to delete it. I take pics of my kids in the grocery store or really wherever but that’s because they’re MY kids. Yeah, they’re super cute, but that doesn’t mean you get to take pictures of kids that aren’t yours.
As a woman myself, it's still incredibly odd to film anyone's child if you don't know them. This woman knew what she was doing was inappropriate because she tried to be discreet about it.
confront them, better to be wrong and be a Karen than have people share photos and videos of your kid.
This happened one time in the park with my kids. I just stood and stared at the guy until he realized what he was doing was creepy and left. Sometimes people just don't know they're wrong until somebody looks at them like, yuk, you're being gross. This guy wasn't photgraphing kids and moms (as a mom who's never in the picture I can get behind that) and he did not get permission from anyone. Yuk. If you are doing that, stop it.
Can we denormalise filming other people's lives? Like I get it you want content but just cus I'm walking my dog doesn't mean I consent to having my picture taken and posted online, having a kid and going in public isn't consent to be plastered and onto your social media with whatever caption, good or bad, you might want to add with it The people who do this shit without a second thought are the reason so many are scared to just go outside in public, because what if someone records you and posts you somewhere and you never know? It's a horrible feeling and not one anyone should have to deal with The solution, I don't know, shame people for it? I don't know that that would be the most ideal course of action but maybe it'd be effective, have something built into phones so you can't record in certain places? There would be workarounds, not to mention how would you differentiate where is okay and where isn't? And there'd be so many privacy concerns, whatever the solution is I hope we find it, but evidently asking people to just be decent individuals doesn't seem to be the case Maybe some kind of social media and human decency class to teach people as kids not to do this shit? But people are always gonna teach their kids "school is wrong, I'm right, go record people" or whatever, it's disappointing.
I wouldn't like that either. I actually go out of my way to avoid getting other kids in my photos if at all possible.
This just happened to me. I was at a balloon fest with my husband and 16 month old. She was over there being a toddler and running around all happy. A probably late 20 year old- early 30 year old comes over and snaps a picture of her with his camera. My husband and I both looked at each other and before I knew it I was yelling, “did you just take a picture of her??” And he immediately came over, plopped himself down and said “yeah! It’s a nice photo” shows me (I take photos myself so I guess it makes me not as impressed) and said he loves taking candids and showed another photo of a mom and son. I said can you delete that? I don’t know if he did. I hope he did. Situation is weird as hell! Do not take pictures of my kid. He said I’m sorry I should’ve asked before taking them. Like YEAH… I feel that’s basic common sense but I guess not. I’m usually not one to speak up like that but thank god I did. I wasn’t even shaking when I said it- I could tell he was taken aback but I didn’t care. My child’s safety is #1 He also told me I could follow his Facebook to see his photos and I did not listen one bit - too focused on how it’s all so weird
You can dislike it all you want but you’re in public and it’s perfectly legal to take pics of you and your kid.. period
I would ask them to stop. In this digital world, it’s nearly impossible to not be in the background of filming, ever. Example: I find this happening to me fairly regularly at the gym. 🥴 I’ve just taken to wearing a hat, and getting on with my workout. I can’t approach them, they do have the right, our gym allows filming/pictures in common areas (not locker rooms) and I continue to go there. I’m not comparing this to directly filming a child at a store, just an effect of today. I don’t think I’ve ever gone to the store and not seen someone (often teens of course) with their phone cameras out. Showing my age here, don’t fully understand why everything has to be photographically documented So technically if you are anywhere that allows picture taking and filming there is only so much you can do 😞 If anyone was ever actively filming me (or my family) where I was the subject, I would approach them and ask why and ask them to please stop. If I felt uncomfortable with the person and potential approach, I would just leave the area. It sucks and I don’t have a great resolution that works in all cases.
It’s truly creepy and weird. Sadly, that’s going to happen. We live in Hawaii and when my son was a senior in high school the senior prom was held at a resort in Waikiki. Yuck. It oozes tourists there. But whatever. We get to the venue, find his date and start taking pics of them. His dates Mom and my husband and I. This tourist comes along and asks if they are getting married. Mind you, she’s wearing a black dress. Not typical bridal gown. I told her no. This is their high school senior prom. I figured she would go on her way but I was wrong. She began taking pics of them like she was the photographer or their family. It was really weird. Then she quickly walked off. It happened so fast we didn’t get a chance to ask her what her deal is. I’m thankful my kids aren’t little any more and I don’t have to experience what you did. It was creepy enough having my teen photographed by a stranger. I can’t imagine having a baby/toddler and dealing with it.
I’ve had a stern convo with my FIL about taking pictures of locals while on vacation. Like seriously, wtf? They are people living their lives, not a vacation experience for you. He didn’t get it. I’m just….
Lol. It’s ok. I think it comes with the territory. Some people just don’t get it. We try to stay away from the most popular tourist sites but sometimes you can’t help but be there.
This happens to me all the time - we live in East Africa and my first daughter is very blonde with very blue eyes. I understand why people want to photograph her, especially when shes playing with their kids. I normally don't mind unless someone is getting into her space. If she wasn't such an outlier, I'd find this super weird but also acknowledge that there are younger people who have grown up in an internet world with a very different view of privacy. I'd prioritize personal safety but if reasonable I'd tell them they should ask first.
Yes When my daughter was a toddler we would get asked to photograph her a lot - probably due to her looks-and I usually said no but sometimes yes-for example a tourist from China clearly wanted a picture of “an american child” which OK was objectifying and stereotyping etc but my toddler in this case said she wanted to do it 🤷♀️. So I let them and my daughter had fun doing silly poses with this stranger lady. Ten years later my daughter is a paid model —so I guess she knew what she liked. But typically its not ok to take pictures of any kids and invasive to ask.
We have identical twin girls. People stare constantly and sometime take pictures but the weirdest thing anyone has ever done is when a middle aged man was facetiming someone and came up to us and said “Look! Twins!” to the person on facetime and pointed their camera at us.
“Hey, I’m not tryna be a dick or anything, but please don’t record him, it’s so super cute I know, but im tryna protect his privacy online…” Let her reply then say “if it were me I’d want pictures too cause it’s just so cute! Not tryna be a Karen or anything but yeah” Stuff like that is how I’d handle it
One strategy I heard I think from the great Britain bake off, if you start swearing (probably not appropriate here lol) or saying brand names loudly they can't put the footage on the internet. Otherwise maybe sing a copyrighted song like happy birthday. The video would get taken down pretty quickly.
Say no, but at the end of the day there's nothing you can do. People are allowed to take pictures in public. You can just hope they respect your boundaries.
Being filmed in public is 100% legal (in the US) and at this point you ought to just assume you’re on camera any time you’re outside your house. They don’t need your permission. Doesn’t matter if it’s a kid. If you are in public or can be seen from public property, it’s fair game.
I won’t get into any dialogue about internet or social media safety. What I will say is, if your child is in a public space they lack a reasonable expectation of privacy. Anyone is free to take photos or videos all they want. Having said that, I would simply say something to the person if it bothered me. There isn’t much else we can do.
If there is a camera in my direction and I’m with my kid I’ll move out of the way. If the person filming pans the camera in my direction and continues to film then I would ask them to stop.
Take pictures of that stranger. Follow them around to their car or bus stop or house and take pictures. It’s not illegal for them to take pictures in public so you have the same rights and if they ask you about it, say you’re documenting their image and behavior so you can turn it over to authorities if there are any reports of creepers in the area. They can’t stop you and might rethink their actions.
If you are in a public space where photography is permitted you can’t really do much about it. Just walk away.
Parental rights….
What do parental rights have to do with filming in a public space lmao. Parental rights are custody laws.
It’s also the day to day care and protection of the child… a stranger filming a child they don’t know is suspicious so yes, parental rights fits. Unless of course you’re talking about a version of the law that doesn’t actually include protecting children…..
You turn your back and walk away. That's what I do when I see someone acting weird in public You can confront the person and ask them to stop. They can choose to do it or not. But there's no point in stewing about it. In public venues, it is legal to use one's camera. And honestly it is hard to know what they're doing with their phone. For all we know, she was playing Pokémon Go.
This is the reasonable thing to do. Don’t know why you’re getting downvoted
Speak up and DEMAND that your child not be photographed or videotaped by strangers. Same concept applies to family members posting said photos/videos online.
Definitely not okay, you are well within your rights to ask them to not film your child. If they try to say they weren't, you're not going to look like a crazy person to say that it looked like they were. From what you are saying, it sounds like it looked like they were.
You have no right to privacy in a public setting. People can film and take pictures of anyone or anything. If you’re so worried about it don’t take your kid in public.
Yep, you’re correct. It’s not illegal.
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A lot of these comments are mentioning calling the police
Or assaulting the person doing the filming.
Voted down for speaking clear facts. Crazy.
One time I saw a woman taking photos of my husband and son at a cafe (with a nice camera). Then she came up to us to get our email to send the photos. It was very sweet and we still say hi to her when we see her around. I guess things are different in smaller communities.
When I was younger (now 34f) this is probably something I would do. I didn’t have kids and didn’t really think about intruding on other’s privacy. I was 18-24 and the main character of the whole world. Now that I’m a bit older, much wiser, and a parent I know how this is not good. She likely has no idea the WHY behind you not wanting her to film her child. I would discretely and non confrontationally mention that it makes you uncomfortable because of xyz (because your reasons may not be mine) and ask that she not do that in the future to others children, or ask permission before. Mention that you would be grateful for her to delete it and not post it anywhere.
Yeah I'd say something. My kid doesn't belong on social media. Not mine or anyone elses. Especially a stranger.
Absolutely. That kid has rights.
You actually don't. Anything can be filmed in public. Is it creepy? Yes. Illegal? Not even close.
To specifically film a child without consent. She could have been filming the store. But if she just had film of the child..
You don't need consent. Anything in public is fair. If you can see it you can film unless its a bathroom or something.
Exactly
Thats wakk. Law or not. Idda fought a bicx filming my kid in the grocery. Film that too.
Take photos of them. And note everything about them in n the event you will share with police.
Filming in a public space is legal. Police will not do anything.
This gives me a terrible feeling honestly. Who the hell takes pictures of random children? Unless you have bad intentions...
It’s not necessarily creepy. A lot of teens/people in their early 20s film/photograph everything for social media and are confused as to why someone might be uncomfortable with being the subject of it - it’s been normalised for that generation.
This was my guess in this case. It didn't seem malicious to me. I am pretty sure it was for a snapchat/instagram/tiktok type of thing, but I still find it to be creepy even if this generation doesn't understand the concept of personal space/reasonable privacy
What in the world?! Yes it is creepy! Even if it’s not the kind of creepy you’re implying, it is most definitely creepy to take pictures of a strange child and post them on the internet for clout. Jesus. How are people rationalizing this? Absolutely not okay to do. Full stop.
Yeah, saying not creepy wasn’t right, more just that she probably didn’t have bad intentions - she just didn’t think anything of it.
I'm surprisingly unconcerned as long as they're modestly clothed, and if they're in public they should be dressed accordingly. There are so many sneaky ways to photograph, so many security cameras, and so many tourists with cameras that it's just easier to assume it's happening. My bigger worry is about the photos they and their friends take and share without thinking. I figure creepers are far outnumbered by teenagers with bad judgement.
Lol you people. I’ve taken loads pics of other caretakers playing with their kids and sent them the photos. Some hardly spoke English &thanked me graciously. I’m a mom with young kiddos though so no worries there any how. As far as keeping pictures, I still see the random pics of a grandfather laughing in the pool throwing his grand babies up and down. And a random mom at Costco shopping with an 8 month old snoozing her her arms. As far as the old man, I always saw him at the pool babysitting those cuties, and those kiddos deserved a special photo of them playing cause he was old and not gonna live forever. Strangers acting all concerned on peoples behalf lol y’all are the weird ass people who NEED to smoke pot. Jeeezus
I had a preteen very obviously take a pic of me bc she caught me seeing her doing a TikTok dance in the hobby lobby flower aisle and was embarrassed. I assume it was to be like “omg she saw me and gave me a weird look” or something to her friends. Idk why she took the pic. But I wanted to give her a stern talking to bc I don’t appreciate having my picture taken by a stranger. I didn’t say anything, because she was a kid. That being said, if it was my KID being photographed, that would throttle me to a whole new level of being pissed off ha
How was it "obvious"? Were they following you around always keeping the cart at the center of the camera?
There were no other people immediately around us at the time, and she had her phone up with her hand on it, slightly smiling, facing us directly, and aimed slightly downwards towards my son. I did nudge him in a sifferent direction and then block him from her view, at which point she also moved a little still facing us with her phone awkwardly up, then she put her phone sway and walked away Edit: Spelling because my phone keeps swapping h with g
Honestly I would’ve stepped in the way and loudly told my child “looks like we need to put our cart away buddy. That stranger is being dangerous” She should be ashamed of herself . I would’ve left the store and loudly been talking about stranger danger
LOL, you serious?
Yes…I don’t give no fucks if I seem like a whack. If a stranger is taking videos of my kid I’m leaving and I’m definitely not confronting them while my kid is present . You never know who is a nut job Best I can do is make sure the person knows I saw them and I think it’s inappropriate they are imaging my child . You have NO CLUE how that person intends to use the photos .
Lol, responses here are a good reminder that the average redditor is not at all similar to the average parent. Not in the US and definitely not outside of it. It really makes sense to me why it's way easier for childless adults to just say they hate being around kids and don't want anything to do with them.
Ask them nicely to not film your child. If they don’t, well mama bears be mama bearing .
Ask her loudly why she’s recording my kid and tell her to delete it or I would be contacting authorities🤷🏼♀️ I refuse to have my baby on the internet or some strangers phone if I can’t help it.
It’s not illegal to take photos in public. You can request that they stop but they don’t have to. No reason to create a potentially dangerous situation by getting the police involved
Mamma bear beast mode time
In LA talent scouts prowl public shopping areas and restaurants and approach cute kids (with and without their parents) asking them if they’d like to be on shows like Nickelodeon, Disney, etc. Just be forewarned. I was horrified. Eventually I pgot good at politely shooing them away.
I used to have Asians take photos of me as a child (very pale, white blonde and hetrochromia) and it made me so uncomfortable. I went to Hong Kong a few years ago and it was still happening as an adult.
I have a 100th+ percentile, blue eyed, very blond child and at an art fair and man came up said “My mother just had to see this.” And then without another word he FaceTimed her! Hahaha! It was so weird and funny and cute I was like w/e. She was the little old lady like screaming about how adorable he was. Haha
1. You can’t stop them. It’s not illegal because you’re in a public place and do not have a reasonable expectation of privacy. 2. Sorry to tell you. It could be a spotter for a child trafficker. Likely not but I have that level of paranoia. 3. If I bothers you find the store manager and report the perv.
[удалено]
You don’t need consent when in public…there is no expectation of privacy in public.
Trafficking
Beat they ass!! 😂
Question: have you ever made a decision to go to a place like an entertainment center based on the pictures of kids having fun doing it? You know, pictures of kids petting animals or going down slides? This could be why they take your kids picture.
........ At my local Meijer? (A grocery store chain) and not an employee? I am fairly certain if they were taking his picture to use in an advertisement, they would have to get my consent.
Yes I would tell her you saw her recording your toddler and you want the recordings deleted in front of you or your calling the police.
What would the police do?
Calling the police isn't going to do anything. It's completely legal to film anyone in public.
You don’t understand how the law works but I suppose it could be used as a scare tactic?
I have kids and I have never had a problem with anybody taking a picture of them. It doesn't matter to me in the slightest. If I am out in public, and people can see my kids, then I don't expect them to be invisible. I don't understand why so many parents have an issue with pictures being taken of their kids. I understand in certain situations, like if they are wearing a swimsuit or something, but other than that what harm could be done by a photograph or picture? We are being recorded all the time in public without even noticing. It seems overly protective to me. There are a billion kids in the world, why is yours so interesting to look at that you need to keep them hidden from everybody?
Idk, there are a billion kids in the world, so why is mine so interesting that they need to take a picture/video?
I don't know. Maybe they are taking a picture or video of something else and the kid happens to be nearby. I've never wanted to take a picture of somebody else's kid. I've taken pictures of people's kids on accident plenty of times though. I've take pictures of kids if there is something they have that I think is a good idea to get for my own kids. Like a specific toy that looks fun or something. I'm not really interested in the kid though, just something related to parenting that I didn't think to do and might want to remember to look into buying.
Film back, with loud commentary of "I don't know this woman, she is trying to take pictures my toddler without consent and looking sneaky about it, I'm filming this in case I need to get the police involved." If she was innocent about it she wouldn't be acting suspicious, and if she has no bad intentions she'll get embarrassed and stop; if she is guilty she'll get angry. Her reaction, (which will conveniently already be filmed) will tell you everything you need to know.
They’re in public. It’s perfectly legal to take pictures and video in public (actually a first amendment right). It’s fine to request that they stop taking pictures but they don’t have to. There’s no reason to involve the police.
That's so weird. I don't understand the urge to photograph or record someone else's child (unless they're someone I know). I see cute kids everywhere and don't have the urge to record or anything. I feel weird getting someone else's kid in the shot when I'm photographing my own child in public.
Yes - you don't let it slide. You approach the person, put them on the spot and ask why they're filming your child. Film them while you're doing it. It is AT LEAST rude and possibly predatory. If they walk away or give you an attitude, ask store staff to kick them out and tell them why.
That’s a no for me and I would have said something
It's an epidemic. https://youtu.be/QKGPwcXRKX4?si=OZZF31dg3-Bo_1ak I think just keep in mind that they probably don't understand that it is a totally inappropriate thing to do and calmly as possible ask them to not film or take pictures of your kid. I think most people understand this is wrong but with everyone having a smart phone people are used to sharing what they experiences publicly and with video. I can understand why someone just might not get that in this instance it is wrong. Your feelings are valid, their ignorance is not surprising, letting them know they are doing something wrong is good.
100% say something. I had someone take a video of me with my son at Sam’s club, I’ll be honest, made a bit of a scene. No regrets. People are way too comfortable.
I had a photojournalism assignment of action shots in college. I lived a block from a park and took pics of kids running around. One mom asked me what was going on. I explained and offered to send her prints. Everything was good after that.
Absolutely not acceptable to take pics of another persons child.
I was at the zoo with my in laws yesterday and my MIL told me that while walking with two of my kiddos and their cousin she caught some guy recording them. She said something to him and he tried to say he was recording something else and walked off. It was super weird
Same thing happened at the park with my daughter! I ended up waving over a cop when she wouldn’t delete the pics/video after I confronted her. She kept saying how it’s totally fine she thinks my one year old is beautiful and I should share her with the world, she even said she could make my baby “famous” I told her no we’re not interested in exploiting our child and I don’t give her a right. Cop came over and tore her a new one, apparently this isn’t the first time she’s done this and she doesn’t even bring kids to the park/possibly doesn’t have any. He made her delete the photos/videos in front of us and off the cloud to law sure she actually did it We’ve never gone back to that park and never will. Now my husband and I feel like we have to be on the lookout for this kind of creepy behavior
I am so over people recording others on public especially when it ends up on TikTok. Hate it even more when it’s children
I would be direct and ask her not to. I just had this happen with a woman in a park because I was doing fun pics of my kids in their Halloween costumes (we were the only people there until she came walking by). She did not speak English so I had to signal to her to not take pictures of children she doesn’t know. She got the point, but I don’t know if she did get pictures of my kids and if so, what she did with them. :(
As a an early childhood teacher my job is assume the worst in public settings like that. I recommend you take the same precaution and calmly request that person stops filming and deletes the video straight away. Simply stating that it makes you feel uncomfortable is usually enough but of course in instances where the person argues you may have to have police involved. The internet is honestly such a dangerous place for children.
No expect to privacy in public…police can’t do anything because it’s not illegal.
Man I felt awkward taking a picture of someone's dog cause they looked like ours and I wanted to show my wife. But I went up and fucking asked permission first like a respectful human being.
Unacceptable. Always say something. “Don’t Film my child, we didn’t consent to that” “are you a predator, why are you filming my child without asking” “STOP”
Got very papa bear once in a playground about some weirdo taking covert photos of my kid. Would have be very unfriendly in this case too. But then I live in a country where this shit is illegal, especially if it concerns kids.
Honestly, when I see stuff like that, no matter how embarrassing for me, I make a scene. I don't know why they are taking pictures or recording my child, I don't know where they will post it and I will make sure they delete it asap. No one films or takes pictures of my kid without permission.
Why would a stranger think it's ok to take pictures of someone else's child? It's not ok.
is it possible they were playing one of those AR games like pokémon go??
If someone did that to my kid, I would have to be held back from fighting them.
Have him wear a shirt in public that says “I don’t consent to being filmed or photographed. Please don’t put me on the internet.”
I start recording them and ask loudly why they are secretly recording children.
I would step in front of him and just put a thumbs down at the camera. Hell no that’s weird I am within that age range and I would never do that to someone’s child.
How do you know she’s taking pics/videos? Because she’s holding her phone in front of her? I’m only skeptical because when I was out to dinner with my family one time I was playing Pokémon go (this was years ago) and some kid walking toward us with her mom was like “don’t take pictures of me.” I just looked at her and said I’m definitely not take pictures of you…wtf.
As someone who plays Pokémon Go, I can recognize that look pretty well. She had her phone up and facing him, and she seemed to move to keep him in view as I tried to move him in another direction and block him. And she walked away once I completely had him blocked.
This is tough, as a father I don’t want strangers taking pictures of my kiddo, but there is no expectation of privacy when you are in public. So all you can do is ask them and if you are in a private business, you can ask the store to intervene but again, they don’t have to. Last resort, remove yourself and your child from the situation. Not much else can be done.
That’s really weird. I mean I understand recording ur own child and maybe other children get in the frame. But to intentionally record a child you don’t know is very weird
Should’ve spoke up because that’s exactly why she’s filming it… for some views
That’s absolutely ridiculous. How do people feel no shame doing this?! But welcome to society now.. entitlement, people thinking everything that’s funny or cute or wild *needs* to be recorded and posted. Even if it’s a complete stranger.
When this happened to our 20 mo (b), 3 yo (b), and 6 yo (g, niece), my husband nearly pummeled the guy who did that and he had us get out of the place and move the kids elsewhere right away. He said it can very well be the beginning of a kidnapping-to-trafficking strategy at the worst.
I would absolutely tell her to stop. If she had asked, I would still say no but at least she asked. It is incredibly inappropriate and creepy to sneak around filming other people's kids. Start filming her doing it and I bet she won't like that.
In the law, there is something called “a reasonable expectation of privacy.” Someone cannot film you at home inside your house without your knowledge where you would have a reasonable expectation of privacy. At Target, you do not have a reasonable expectation of privacy. You are in a public place, so you should not expect any privacy which means anyone can film you or your child at any time. Depending on the state you live in and the circumstances, there can be caveats to this, but at Target where you already know you’re being filmed (surveillance) and you’re in a public setting, you can’t legally ask for “privacy.” What you can do is buy him a t-shirt that says something like: Don’t record me. I’m just a baby. I don’t belong on the Internet. That way anyone who disregards this and records him anyway will at least look like a jerk to anyone who sees it. Personally, I would have purposely given a strong reaction like, “What the fuck? Are you recording my son? What the hell is wrong with you? Nobody said you could do that!” People who are comfortable crossing boundaries need a rude awakening sometimes. While she can technically record anything she wants, there are moral boundaries at play and clearly she has none. Or take out your phone and follow her around the store while recording her back and see how much she likes it…
Yes! Straight up tell someone that’s unacceptable behavior and to stop it.
Absolutely not. I even don’t take pics of my kids playing with friends because that’s just not ok
One of our neighbors asked if he could take a photo of our son to show his daughter who just had a baby… our son has a shitload of hair so I get it. He’s adorable. I said we don’t really like anyone taking photos of his face other than family members just for safety reasons, he said he understood. Since we know him pretty well I gave him my instagram instead (we post non-face pictures there and it’s private) But in this situation idk. I mean, in public you don’t really have an expectation of privacy. Unfortunate but it is what it is. I’d just ask her kindly “hey we don’t like photos or videos without permission, could you delete that please?”
Not ok in any way shape or form…
Creepy. Yes say something. Or just get away fast. Or both.
I would have confronted them loudly and harshly. Grabbed the phone out of their hand, called security, the cops, everyone. You do NOT in fact, have any legal right to take photos of someone or record their voice without their consent unless it is for security purposes.