Celebrity parents have cause to celebrate in California on thursday. A bill meant to deter paparazzi from getting too close to the children of famous folks was signed into law by Governor Jerry Brown in Sacramento.
Both Halle Berry and Jennifer Garner had testified on behalf of Senate Bill 606, which increases the possible punishment for harassing celebrity kids, and clarifies the legal definition of harassment in such cases.
Now, according to the office of state Senator Kevin de León, who sponsored the bill, harassment includes “conduct in the course of the actual or attempted recording of children’s images and/or voices, without express parental consent, by following their activities or lying in wait.”
Meanwhile, transmitting, publishing or broadcasting a child’s image or voice does not constitute a violation. Now, if shutterbugs are convicted of harassing a minor who has been targeted based on his or her parent’s employment (ie famous actor, singer, personality, et al), they can spend up to a year in jail instead of the previous maximum six months, and be fined $10,000 for their first violation, $20,000 for their second and up to $30,000 for their third.
The law also makes it easier for a parent or legal guardian to sue a pap for damages over an incidence of harassment.
Berry has been seen more than once giving photographers a piece of her mind when they’ve come too close to comfort to her and daughter Nahla.
“I started this fight with a great deal of hope and a bit of uncertainty so I cannot express my immense gratitude that Gov Brown has recognised, and acted to remedy, the plight of children who are tormented because of the identity or prominence of their parents,” the star said. “On behalf of my children, it is my hope that this is the beginning of the end for those overly aggressive paparazzi whose outrageous conduct has caused so much trauma and emotional distress.”
“I am forever in awe of the support I got within my community from the enormously talented musician Adele to fellow actor Jennifer Garner who traveled with me to Sacramento to share her children’s stories, experience and her desire to give them a better life,” she continued.
