Youtube Removes Video of Maguire Properties Guard Harassing Photographer

This video was originally 10 minutes long and showed a Maguire Properties' security guard telling photographers that they could not photograph The Gas Company Tower without the owner's permission. However, that is not true since public photography is a constitutional right, protected by the 1st Amendment and any person, thing or structure within view from a public space is free to photograph. The full video was ultimately removed by Youtube due to a "privacy" complaint violation.

To read more about this story and to see the full video check out the following links:

http://www.discarted.com/pages/guard_harassment.html

http:://www.discarted.wordpress.com

http://www.flickr.com/groups/photography_is_not_a_crime/discuss/7215762239906...

Category:

Nonprofits & Activism

Tags:

• maguire properties
• security guard
• harassment
• harassing
• los angeles
• downtown
• photographers' rights

[skatecubed]

Is it just me discarted, or is spooky just another one of those paranoid, everyone is a terrorist, repeater of hearsay bullshitters that believes that there is a great photography conspiracy to attack office towers from public property with out super duper zoom lenses, and steal the souls of the gallant guards with our wide angle lenses?

[discarted]

@skatecubed

well said

[skatecubed]

@govtiscool People who accept, without question, their rights being questioned and violated, people like you, will eventually lose them, along with all their other rights, and they will take everyone down that rode with them.

[skatecubed]

@govtiscool If there is a reason, such as national security, that reason needs to be conveyed, or the officer tower moved to a secure location. Until then, while it is in public view from a public location, it is fair game. It is blind "faith" that there must be something wrong with it if the guards and police are harassing the photographer is EXACTLY the reason people need to stand up for their rights.

[skatecubed]

@viruslived Annoying is not illegal, legislating people into submission ends in one of possibly two ways, a revolution, or a totalitarian state, do you want either to happen?

[LtBitter]

@skatecubed Couldn't agree more. The harassment and post 911 worry needs to stop. I enjoy photography and we should be allowed to take photos without people getting paranoid.

[thebakerman1]

@viruslived Yes, absolutely. How some of these people approach a given situation say's a lot about how it may play out. Cops do this all the time. They approach a situation many times rather aggressively. Yet if they just acted liked a real human being things wouldn't escalate like they do. But this guy apparently knew about the guards and their erroneous boasting of video-recording of the building being against the law. That's likely why he approached it the way he did.

[viruslived]

@thebakerman1 Yeah I agree with you. I'm just saying the guy filming these videos is just annoying... Yes what he does is legal... for now. The more out of control this stuff gets, the more likely a government official will put their foot down and amend something. Kinda like what happened to cell phones while driving. I don't believe this is exercising rights, this is abusing freedoms. Frankly it's childish.

[thebakerman1]

@viruslived To each their own, dude.

However, MOST of us say any building sitting in full view of public property is fair game when it comes to photography or video. Privacy laws don't apply when the building in question can be seen in broad daylight from the fucking SIDEWALK.

[viruslived]

@thebakerman1

No... they can remove any video they want for ANY reason they see fit. YouTube didn't break any laws. On the other hand, the guy posting all these videos sure knows how to abuse his freedoms.

[thebakerman1]

I guess even YouTube breaks the law on occasion :(

[MKrip808]

The Patriot Act, gives the word "Patriot" a bad name. Next they will call the Nazi concentration camps, health and diet centers and call prisons, freedom fairs.