Monitoring Cameras
A Right To Know:
Public venues that use surveillance cameras generally post signs that inform people that they are being watched and recorded. This is considered a fair-minded approach. Informing the public that any activity that is illegal or otherwise not allowed will be captured on a recording. This practice is voluntary by most public and private security entities, but in most cases it, provides an adequate level of security to your customers, clients and employees. In short, there is little or no federal regulation regarding the use of security camera in public places. As such, any security camera used in these areas, whether you know about it or not, is probably going to be okay; provided that it can be shown that the camera was installed for “safety purposes” and that no invasion of privacy issue is in question.
Silent Video Surveillance:
Title 1 of 18 U.S. Code Section 2510 of the Electronic Communications Privacy Act states “Video surveillance cameras are allowed to be used for watching and recording citizens without their knowledge or consent as long as no sound is recorded.” Although proponents of the Fourth Amendment have contended that this violates the right to privacy, the code has been used by many government entities in this capacity without legal redress. This function is widely applied as of 2010 for watching and taping public highways and streets. Like many states, video surveillance laws in Ohio need to be interpreted through its wiretapping statutes (Ohio Rev. Code 2933.51-2.)
Important Note:
Taking into account the above information, everyone walking or driving about in America, should do so with the caveat that they may be (at any given time) in the process of being recorded on a security camera.