A private place is defined as a location where a person expects to be safe from unauthorized surveillance.

Most video recordings in the United States are legal with or without consent; however, several laws do exist regarding "Invasion of Privacy," which deals with the concept of expected privacy. This idea of “expected privacy” includes are such as bathrooms, locker rooms, changing and dressing rooms, bedrooms, and other areas where a person may expect a certain level of personal privacy.

Most of the laws dealing with video recording privacy issues tend to allow covert recording and monitoring of video activity under most circumstances without notification of any of the parties involved, it is recommended that prior to use of a Hidden Camera, you consult with your local law enforcement or an attorney who is knowledgeable in the area. This insures that despite a general understanding of the law, you are in fact complying with all local and federal regulations prior to utilization of video surveillance or monitoring.

The laws in thirteen states expressly prohibit the unauthorized installation or use of cameras in "private" places. These states include: Alabama, Arkansas, California, Delaware, Georgia, Hawaii, Kansas, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, South Dakota, and Utah. In these states, the installation or use of any device for photographing, observing or eavesdropping actions or audio in a "private" place without permission of those being observed or listened to is a crime punishable by law. Some states also prohibit trespassing on private property to conduct unauthorized surveillance of people there. These states include: Alabama, Delaware, Georgia, Hawaii, Kansas, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, South Dakota, and Utah. In most of these states, the unauthorized installation or use of Hidden Camera (those that are seen as violating ones 4th Amendment rights to privacy) is a felony offense.

Violating such laws is punishable by a $2,000.00 fine and a sentence of up to 2 years in prison.

Hidden Cameras in the Workplace

The idea of a Hidden Camera in the workplace is a relatively new one. Companies that are concerned with the on-the-job activities of their employees can get legal permission to install Hidden Cameras; however, without such legal permission to install the cameras, any findings from the surveillance tapes would be useless in enforcing disciplinary measures as stern as dismissal.

In a recent example, In July of 2005, a 2-1 panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit upheld a finding that the Anheuser-Busch committed an unfair labor practice when it installed hidden cameras in 1998 before bargaining with the union, as required under federal labor laws. The brewer had fired five workers in 1998 after Security Cameras showed the employees smoking marijuana in an area where workers sometimes take breaks at one of its St. Louis facilities. The example of the Anheuser-Busch case is relevant because that it touches upon all relevant issues surrounding not only privacy, but also privacy and surveillance in the workplace.

Anheuser-Busch argued that the cameras were a matter of internal security and that employees should not be awarded the expectation of privacy in the elevator, in motors room or the rooftop, which were not official break areas.

The NLRB (National Labor Relations Board) has allowed Hidden Cameras in the workplace for a long period of time, only demanding that the company bargains with the union prior to installation. However, the company does not have to say where the cameras are placed, thus allowing most or all of them

to be hidden.

Despite the protection from Hidden Cameras that labor members may get, small-office employees and other non-union workers have very little they can say in opposition to such issues. Due to the absence of legal precedent in this area, small business owners and mid-level managers of large companies are able to get away with just about anything they want. While there is a common law of privacy in every state, such laws are very rarely used in surveillance cases, especially those pertaining to an employee’s conduct while on the job. The way the law stands this very moment, an employer can for the most part put a Hidden Camera anywhere (including the restroom), and there's little, in anything, that anyone can do about it.