How Do I Defend Aginst My Neighbors Hiding Cameras in My Home?
Full Question:
Answer:
It may be possible to file criminal charges or file a civil lawsuit for invasion of privacy. Invasion of privacy is the intrusion into the personal life of another, without just cause, which can give the person whose privacy has been invaded a right to bring a lawsuit for damages against the person or entity that intruded. It encompasses workplace monitoring, Internet privacy, data collection, and other means of disseminating private information. A non-public individual has a right to privacy from: a) intrusion on one's solitude or into one's private affairs; b) public disclosure of embarrassing private information; c) publicity which puts him/her in a false light to the public; d) appropriation of one's name or picture for personal or commercial advantage.
Invasion of privacy may also include criminal charges, such as violation of wiretapping or criminal trespass statutes. Please see the PA statutes below to determine applicability:
18 Pa.C.S.A. § 5703. Interception, disclosure or use of wire, electronic
or oral communications
Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, a person is guilty of a
felony of the third degree if he:
(1) intentionally intercepts, endeavors to intercept, or procures any
other person to intercept or endeavor to intercept any wire, electronic
or oral communication;
(2) intentionally discloses or endeavors to disclose to any other
person the contents of any wire, electronic or oral communication, or
evidence derived therefrom, knowing or having reason to know that the
information was obtained through the interception of a wire, electronic
or oral communication; or
(3) intentionally uses or endeavors to use the contents of any wire,
electronic or oral communication, or evidence derived therefrom,
knowing or having reason to know, that the information was obtained
through the interception of a wire, electronic or oral communication.
18 Pa.C.S.A. § 5771. General prohibition on use of certain devices and
exception
(a) General rule. — Except as provided in this section, no person may
install or use a pen register or a trap and trace device or a
telecommunication identification interception device without first
obtaining a court order under section 5773 (relating to issuance of an
order for use of certain devices).
(b) Exception. — The prohibition of subsection (a) does not apply with
respect to the use of a pen register, a trap and trace device or a
telecommunication identification interception device by a provider of
electronic or wire communication service:
(1) relating to the operation, maintenance and testing of a wire or
electronic communication service or to the protection of the rights or
property of the provider, or to the protection of users of the service
from abuse of service or unlawful use of service;
(2) to record the fact that a wire or electronic communication was
initiated or completed in order to protect the provider, another
provider furnishing service toward the completion of the wire
communication or a user of the service from fraudulent, unlawful or
abusive use of service; or
(3) with the consent of the user of the service.
(b.1) Limitation. — A government agency authorized to install and use a
pen register under this chapter shall use technology reasonably available
to it that restricts the recording or decoding of electronic or other
impulses to the dialing and signaling information utilized in call
processing.
(c) Penalty. — Whoever intentionally and knowingly violates
subsection (a) is guilty of a misdemeanor of the third degree.
18 Pa.C.S.A. § 3503. Criminal trespass
(a) Buildings and occupied structures. —
(1) A person commits an offense if, knowing that he is not licensed or
privileged to do so, he:
(i) enters, gains entry by subterfuge or surreptitiously remains in any
building or occupied structure or separately secured or occupied portion
thereof; or
(ii) breaks into any building or occupied structure or separately
secured or occupied portion thereof.
(2) An offense under paragraph (l)(i) is a felony of the third degree,
and an offense under subparagraph (l)(ii) is a felony of the second
degree.
(3) As used in this subsection:
"Breaks into." To gain entry by force, breaking, intimidation,
unauthorized opening of locks, or through an opening not designed for
human access.
(b) Defiant trespasser. —
(1) A person commits an offense if, knowing that he is not licensed or
privileged to do so, he enters or remains in any place as to which notice
against trespass is given by:
(i) actual communication to the actor;
(ii) posting in a manner prescribed by law or reasonably likely to come
to the attention of intruders;
(iii) fencing or other enclosure manifestly designed to exclude
intruders;
(iv) notices posted in a manner prescribed by law or reasonably likely
to come to the person's attention at each entrance of school grounds that
visitors are prohibited without authorization from a designated school,
center or program official; or
(v) an actual communication to the actor to leave school grounds as
communicated by a school, center or program official, employee or agent
or a law enforcement officer.
(2) Except as provided in paragraph (l)(v), an offense under this
subsection constitutes a misdemeanor of the third degree if the offender
defies an order to leave personally communicated to him by the owner of
the premises or other authorized person. An offense under
paragraph (l)(v) constitutes a misdemeanor of the first degree. Otherwise it is a
summary offense.
(b.l) Simple trespasser. —
(1) A person commits an offense if, knowing that he is not licensed or
privileged to do so, he enters or remains in any place for the purpose
of:
(i) threatening or terrorizing the owner or occupant of the premises;
(ii) starting or causing to be started any fire upon the premises; or
(iii) defacing or damaging the premises.
(2) An offense under this subsection constitutes a summary offense.
(b.2) Agricultural trespasser. —
(1) A person commits an offense if knowing that he is not licensed or
privileged to do so he:
(i) enters or remains on any agricultural or other open lands when such
lands are posted in a manner prescribed by law or reasonably likely to
come to the person's attention or are fenced or enclosed in a manner
manifestly designed to exclude trespassers or to confine domestic
animals; or
(ii) enters or remains on any agricultural or other open lands and
defies an order not to enter or to leave that has been personally
communicated to him by the owner of the lands or other authorized
person.
(2) An offense under this subsection shall be graded as follows:
(i) An offense under paragraph (l)(i) constitutes a misdemeanor of the
third degree and is punishable by imprisonment for a term of not more
than one year and a fine of not less than $250.
(ii) An offense under paragraph (l)(ii) constitutes a misdemeanor of
the second degree and is punishable by imprisonment for a term of not
more than two years and a fine of not less than $500 nor more than
$5,000.
(3) For the purposes of this subsection, the phrase "agricultural or
other open lands" shall mean any land on which agricultural activity or
fanning as defined in section 3309 (relating to agricultural vandalism)
is conducted or any land populated by forest trees of any size and
capable of producing timber or other wood products or any other land in
an agricultural security area as defined in the act of June 30, 1981
(P.L. 128, No. 43),[fn1] known as the Agricultural Area Security Law, or
any area zoned for agricultural use.
(c) Defenses. — It is a defense to prosecution under this
section that:
(1) a building or occupied structure involved in an offense under
subsection (a) of this section was abandoned;
(2) the premises were at the time open to members of the public and the
actor complied with all lawful conditions imposed on access to or
remaining in the premises; or
(3) the actor reasonably believed that the owner of the premises, or
other person empowered to license access thereto, would have licensed him
to enter or remain.
(d) Definition. — As used in this section, the term "school grounds"
means any building of or grounds of any elementary or secondary publicly
funded educational institution, any elementary or secondary private
school licensed by the Department of Education, any elementary or
secondary parochial school, any certified day-care center or any licensed
preschool program.
[fn1] 3 P. S. § 901 et seq.
