"Right now techs are caught between a rock and a hard place," Galgiani said. "They don't have the legal right to report something now, and they can get accused of invading someone's privacy."
Yet Bill AB1475 states that failing to do so would fine techs up to $1,000 and put them in jail for as long as six months.
Galgiani previously said the definition of child pornography has little "gray area," and that, "The kids either have their clothes on, [or] they have their clothes off."
However, she told XBIZ that with recent media coverage, she's been questioned about some gray area she hadn't initially anticipated. Many have brought up the fact that many personal computers hold family photos featuring children bathing or frolicking nude in the backyard. Following her broad standard, computer users could be falsely accused by untrained techs.
"Our intention is not to leave any ambiguity in the bill and have innocent people drawn in," Galgiani said. "We plan to ask the attorney general's office and the commercial film industry if there has been a problem thus far [with current law]."
Current law already requires commercial photo developers to report CP, and states the owners of photo developing businesses are "strongly encouraged" to provide training for employees to avoid inaccurate CP identification. Galgiani said that, if it proves necessary, she is open to mandating such training to prevent future problems.
Galgiani said that pictures defined as "sexual abuse," and those that have not been posted on the Internet, clarifies the difference between CP and innocent photos. She said she wants feedback and is open to revising the bill after hearing from others in the photo developing business.
Rick Louis, manager of communications and government affairs at ASACP, told XBIZ that he feels Galgiani's concern about fighting CP is admirable, but that properly defining CP is vital to the cause.
"Threatened with fines and imprisonment, technicians will obviously feel compelled to err on the far side of caution, rather than risk incriminating themselves by inaction," Louis said. "This means that allegations of child pornography would inevitably be leveled against innocent people. ASACP naturally favors effective reporting and investigation of suspected child pornography. But it would be hard to classify as effective the kind of reporting that would occur under that kind of duress and with those kinds of likely results."
Galgiani's bill so far has been passed by the Public Safety Committee, which Galgiani said is the "first hurdle." The Appropriations Committee is set to look it over next month.
