Most Americans back a law making it illegal for the paparazzi to take photos of the children of celebrities
On January 1st a new California law went into effect that aims to protect the children of celebrities from being harassed by freelance photographers who specialize in taking photos of celebrities in public, known as the 'paparazzi'. Tthe law has been popular among celebrity parents and its passage was championed by some of them. Halle Berry and Jennifer Garner were prominent advocates of the law, after saying that the photographers were traumatizing their children.
Two other actors, Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard have created a social media campaign that takes aim at the use of child photos taken by paparazzi in magazines. The campaign has achieved some success, with a few magazines, including Entertainment Weekly and People, agreeing not to use paparazzi photos of children ever again.
According to the latest YouGov research, a majority of Americans (68%) would support a law making it illegal for the paparazzi to take unauthorized pictures of celebrity children. Most people support the measure, but women and Northeasterners are the most supportive with a majority of each (53%) saying they 'strongly support' the law.
Opposition to the paparazzi isn't just limited to photographs of the children of celebrities, however. Most Americans (64%) disapprove of magazines publishing unauthorized photos of adult celebrities, though just over a quarter (26%) of the public does approve of magazines using those photos.
Full poll results can be found here.
Image: Getty
