Camera Phones: Peep Show

As camera phone use rises, so does misuse. A prime spot for sneaky photography appears to be health clubs, where people are often found in various states of undress or physical duress.

By Sandy Kendall

June 01, 2004 — CSO — Privacy "Fair warning-digital video, picture cell phones will be confiscated and crushed with our sledgehammer."

So reads a sign at Bazooka's Showgirls in Kansas City, Mo., which, after all, is just protecting its...proprietary, well, data. Yes, and its employees, who are often nude dancers. An Associated Press story in February quoted Bazooka's owner saying so far the club hadn't actually smashed any phones, but it had asked people to put them away.

Cell phone camera use is on the rise, according to several industry trackers. The Consumer Electronics Association says that factory-to-dealer sales of camera phones totaled 6.3 million units last year, and the number is expected to double this year and triple in 2005. InfoTrends Research Group released a study last month saying shipments of camera phones will reach 150 million units this year. Forbes.com reports that Nokia expects to sell 140 million camera phones in 2004.

Not surprising, as use rises so does misuse. A prime spot for sneaky photography appears to be health clubs, where people are often found in various states of undress or physical duress. Some clubs have policies banning camera phones or even cell phones from the gym facilities. Legislation is pending in Chicago to impose a $500 fine for camera phone use in locker rooms, rest rooms, showers or lactation rooms. Colorado has passed a bill that would make it a crime to photograph other people's "intimate parts" without their consent.

Several CIOs and engineers questioned for this article say that their companies have no ban on cell phones, with or without cameras, even where their business revolves around proprietary data. Generally, they say, people are not allowed into sensitive areas without first signing a nondisclosure agreement. And all remark that when they are visiting client sites, particularly secure laboratories or classified facilities run by the government, cell phones and cameras of all types are banned.