The Washington Post - 29.08.2019

the washington post

.

thursday, august

29

,

2019

DC

10

BY LAURA DAILY

Enterprising homeowners are

no longer using security cameras

and video doorbells simply to spot

criminal activity and track deliver-

ies. They’re keeping tabs on their

pets, their kids, even the weather.

There’s been a real evolution, says

Rebecca Edwards, a safety and se-

curity expert based in Salt Lake

City. “Once utilized as a deterrent

to crime, video cameras are now

being used for lifestyle reasons —

managing your home and staying

in touch.”

I questioned several camera-

owning homeowners to find out

how they’re using their cameras

beyond security. The responses

ranged from nanny-cam-like to

downright creative — but some

raise issues about privacy. So be-

fore you install a system, you

should be aware of the laws and

ethics regarding video camera use

in the home.

Edwards, a single parent, says

her cameras have helped her “be

there” f or her kids even when she

isn’t p hysically home. “My son had

some wild years, and I put a cam-

era with a udio in the living room s o

I could check on him and his

friends. I could look a t my p hone at

any time to see what was g oing on.”

The word “hands” became an in-

side family joke. “They’d see the

camera light come on, hear me say

‘hands’ and they’d laugh and wave

their hands.”

Wendy Julia and her husband,

Claude, of Denver, rely on house-

sitters when they travel. The cou-

ple had a basic s ecurity s ystem that

alerted them when a door opened,

but it wasn’t until their son gave

them cameras covering the kitch-

en, den and patio that they were

truly able to observe whether the

housesitters were d oing their job.

“We hired someone new to

housesit and watch our dachs-

hund, Olive,” Julia says. Though

she didn’t mention the cameras to

the housesitter, they were in plain

sight. When she checked in, she

could see that the sitter wasn’t

around often, didn’t take the dog

on long walks and didn’t s pend the

night.

“Olive can’t tell me the sitter

didn’t come or only walked her for

five minutes,” she says. “With the

camera, I know if the person is

being responsible and should I let

them stay i n my h ouse and care for

my dog again. That’s important to

me.”

It’s one thing to use a camera to

check in with your very-much-

aware children, of course, but an-

other to use one to monitor house-

hold workers who might not see

the cameras, even if they aren’t

hidden. This is where the use of

cameras can get tricky, b oth legally

and ethically.

In general, you don’t need con-

sent to videotape people in your

home. In most states, however, it’s

illegal to record hidden-camera

video in areas where the subject

has a reasonable expectation of

privacy, s uch as the bathroom.

Laws vary from state to state

regarding whether you need to tell

someone you can see and/or hear

them. In fact, it can be a crime to

capture the conversations of oth-

ers under federal law, e xplains Lin-

da V. Priebe, a former deputy gen-

eral counsel and ethics official in

White House offices under three

presidents. For example, in the

District and Virginia, if you are one

of the parties participating in a

conversation you can record au-

dio, whereas in Maryland all par-

ticipants must consent, Priebe

says.

Also worth noting: It’s illegal to

record video or audio with mali-

cious intent, such as using the re-

cording f or blackmail.

Wendy Patrick, an attorney and

business ethics lecturer at San Di-

ego State University, says you

should consider more than your

state’s law (to research that, search

online for “[your-state] state law

eavesdropping” or “[your-state]

camera i n your home law”). “When

it comes to observation by stealth,

the important ethical question to

ask is not c an you, but should you,”

she says.

Do the means justify the ends?

Are you watching or listening to

protect a child, pet or elderly rela-

tive? A caregiver might expect

there may be a camera running; a

dinner guest would not. “Better to

be safe than sorry,” Patrick says.

“Tell people, ‘Just to let you know,

we have cameras in the house, and

they are always on.’ Few people

hired to do a service will have a

problem.”

Priebe agrees. “My rule of

thumb is to put yourself in the

other person’s shoes. What would

be your own privacy concerns if

told you were being recorded in

someone’s home. If I’m a guest, I’d

want the option to say, ‘Could you

turn that off?’ ”

One case when recording what

goes on at home doesn’t require

consent: Using security cameras to

check up on furry friends. Former

D.C. resident Elaine R ose has secu-

rity cameras inside and outside her

Los Angeles home. A smartphone

app lets her access cameras to

monitor Rocco, a 5-year-old Jack

Russell-Basenji mix. Rocco is a bit

anxious, to put it mildly, and has a

tendency to dig — actually dig —

into the c ouch cushions. Rose is on

sofa number four. “ Now, I check o n

him every few hours, and with the

two-way audio camera I’m able to

talk to him. I’ll say, ‘Rocco are you

messing with the couch?’ and he

lays down and stops — at least

temporarily.”

Though the couch carnage has

yet to be remedied, Rose says the

cameras give her a sense of secu-

rity, and Rocco’s other antics, such

as catlike perching on the back of

the sofa, provide a chuckle for her

and her friends.

Edwards tried using the audio

camera to communicate with her

dog, Lucas, who would jump onto

the sofa when left alone. “It

worked well until he figured out

we weren’t really in the room or

went deaf. I’m not sure w hich came

first,” s he says.

A couple in San Antonio used

their exterior security cameras to

help settle a marital dispute. L ouis

Wood’s f amily lives next to a green-

belt. “One day my wife mentioned

that she thought she saw a cat in

the y ard. Then she said it was a fox.

I didn’t believe there were fox in

San A ntonio, so I said, ‘Let’s see t he

instant replay.’ We pulled up the

exterior security-camera footage

and, sure enough, she was right,

and I was wrong,” Wood says.

Every few days, Wood, his wife

and their two toddlers watch video

of skunks, possum, a hawk and not

one but two foxes that visit the

home. “The kids love it, because

they recognize the house and can

see the animals filmed during the

day and at n ight [in infrared].”

Wood says the family also uses

the cameras to check on their

ho usekeeper’s progress, so they

don’t come home too soon and get

in her way. “The cameras are for

security, b ut I’m delighted they are

multifaceted,” he says. “That adds

to t heir value.”

Edwards and her children have

used the security system app as an

alternative to video calling.

“Savannah called me from the

grocery store asking what cabbage

looked like,” Edwards recalled. “ It’s

really hard to explain over the

phone, so I had her open the app

on her phone and pulled some

cabbage and iceberg lettuce out of

the refrigerator and held both up

in front of the video camera to

show her the difference.”

My award for best use of a secu-

rity camera for an alternative pur-

pose goes to Michael S uro and L ily

Rodriguez. Barely a year after they

moved into the Miami home, they

had to evacuate their flood-prone

neighborhood as Hurricane Irma

approached. Suro brought his ex-

terior security cameras inside and

pointed several to look out the

impact-resistant windows.

By the time the couple reached

the safety of North Carolina, Irma

had c ome ashore. “Until the power

went out, we could see everything

going on. A neighbor’s tree

snapped and fell into the street.

The best part was we could see no

water coming into the house or

street flooding,” S uro says.

Suro and Rodriguez have also

used security cameras to monitor a

new nanny for their infant daugh-

ter, as well as the comings and

goings of service providers such as

their pool cleaner. S uro anticipates

using the devices well into the fu-

ture. “I’m certain that when my

daughter is a teenager, the house

will b e well-covered i n cameras.”

[email protected]

Denver-based writer Laura Daily

specializes in consumer advocacy and

travel strategies. Find her at

dailywriter.net.

Before you set up up your new security camera, know the law

Home

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Enterprising homeowners are using security cameras to watch their kids, keep an eye on household workers and more.

But the use of these cameras can get tricky ethically and legally, as laws vary from state to state.