Chicago ponders $500 cam phone abuse fine

Mar 04 2004 - 07:38 PM ET | Camera

The city of Chicago is contemplating a $500 fine for the abuse of a camera phone. What constitutes as abuse? Bathrooms and locker rooms are only one half the equation, store check-out lines are the other: bq. "Hairston wants to make it a crime for identity thieves to stand behind paying customers and use cell phone cameras to photograph credit card numbers." The law gets murky when it gets to what you need to do to not be fined while in the proposed "safe zones". bq. "Possession of a camera phone would be legal in those areas only if the camera portion of the phone was "not operational."" Our Take: It's already illegal to steal someone's credit card number. Why make a special case law dealing with a single type of device? Who's to say what is operational and what isn't? How will the Chicago police force catch camera phone toting citizens? This law is way to vague and shows a core misconception of the technology. [Via Wireless Moment]

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