Is it a crime to take pictures of cleavage on the T?
The MBTA Transit Police are searching for a man who is accused of taking pictures of a woman’s cleavage as she leaned over to pick up her bag. The title of this post may sound silly, but it raises an interesting legal and philosophical question: Is it a crime (or does it violate anyone’s rights) to take pictures of someone’s cleavage on the T?
It is unclear exactly what crime this guy would be charged with if he was arrested. Although his actions were undoubtedly creepy, I am inclined to say that they do not constitute a crime.
Taking pictures up someone’s skirt violates their privacy rights because people who wear skirts aren’t intending to reveal whatever they’re wearing under their skirt – they have a reasonable expectation that anything covered by clothing is private. Putting video cameras in bathrooms or changing rooms definitely violates people’s rights, because people justifiably expect those rooms to be private. But if you decide to wear a low-cut top on the subway, you are intentionally making your cleavage publicly visible. It’s creepy to take a picture of just someone’s bust, but if something is publicly visible, people have a right to take pictures of it.
Speaking of inappropriate pictures, if you think it’s a violation of privacy rights to take pictures of someone’s publicly visible cleavage, you should definitely think it’s a violation of privacy rights to create and store images of people’s naked bodies when they are fully clothed, like the TSA does in airports.