To: Massachusetts State Representative Michael S. Day and State Senator Jason Lewis
An Act to protect the privacy of 911 callers
Pass a law that requires broadcasters to get permission from the person who made the call to air 911 calls.
Why is this important?
Dear Fellow Massachusetts Residents:
I have been working with State Senator Jason Lewis since March of 2013 to get a law passed. If you agree with my proposal, please sign this petition. It will help Representative Michael Day persuade the Joint Committee on the Judiciary to move "An Act to protect the privacy of 911 callers" onto the next stage by May 2. (See below for a link to this bill.)
Senator Lewis and Representative Day filed "An Act to protect the privacy of 911 callers" in March 2013, which would protect the privacy of 911 emergency dispatch callers by disallowing public access to recorded 911 calls without the express consent of the original caller. Written transcripts would still be made publicly available upon request, and exemptions for the release of original recordings are provided for law enforcement and court proceedings.
In layman’s terms: I believe it to be a violation of someone's privacy for their recorded 911 calls to be aired on the news. Listening to a person in his/her darkest moment seems inappropriate—intrusive and cruel—and airing such a call seems to me to be an example of the media sensationalizing. I believe that to make these folks not only relive those moments but to share them with the general public is unnecessary. A quick Internet search reveals that several states, including Rhode Island, but not including Massachusetts, do, in fact, limit the media’s access to 911 call recordings. Other states have proposed that while 911 calls are public domain, only the transcripts should be accessible to the public, and not the actual emotion-filled recordings.
Now I am asking for your help to keep this thing alive. Will you sign today? Thank you!
Learn more about the bills:
https://malegislature.gov/Bills/189/House/H1255
Sincerely,
Karen M. Lynch
Winchester, MA
I have been working with State Senator Jason Lewis since March of 2013 to get a law passed. If you agree with my proposal, please sign this petition. It will help Representative Michael Day persuade the Joint Committee on the Judiciary to move "An Act to protect the privacy of 911 callers" onto the next stage by May 2. (See below for a link to this bill.)
Senator Lewis and Representative Day filed "An Act to protect the privacy of 911 callers" in March 2013, which would protect the privacy of 911 emergency dispatch callers by disallowing public access to recorded 911 calls without the express consent of the original caller. Written transcripts would still be made publicly available upon request, and exemptions for the release of original recordings are provided for law enforcement and court proceedings.
In layman’s terms: I believe it to be a violation of someone's privacy for their recorded 911 calls to be aired on the news. Listening to a person in his/her darkest moment seems inappropriate—intrusive and cruel—and airing such a call seems to me to be an example of the media sensationalizing. I believe that to make these folks not only relive those moments but to share them with the general public is unnecessary. A quick Internet search reveals that several states, including Rhode Island, but not including Massachusetts, do, in fact, limit the media’s access to 911 call recordings. Other states have proposed that while 911 calls are public domain, only the transcripts should be accessible to the public, and not the actual emotion-filled recordings.
Now I am asking for your help to keep this thing alive. Will you sign today? Thank you!
Learn more about the bills:
https://malegislature.gov/Bills/189/House/H1255
Sincerely,
Karen M. Lynch
Winchester, MA