At least in the US you can photograph Federal Buildings now

[Jim Bryant]

According to a NY TImes article, at least in the US you can photograph Federal Buildings in NYC. You Can Photograph That Federal Building: Civil Liberties Union and Homeland Security Reach Agreement - NYTimes.com

[Jim Poor]

Lets hope it sticks.

[Photologyst]

Evidently they don't know that Google has already done that.

[ToadHollow]

Originally Posted by Photologyst

Evidently they don't know that Google has already done that.

*snicker* No kidding.

I am all about security and not helping bad guys get their mitts on information they should not have, but I also do think it's possible to take these sorts of things a bit too far. I find myself at times feeling a little conspicuous in the wide world when I'm just trying to capture a moment of art I see.

[BEGM83]

Someone ought to tell the tourists you cant (or rather couldn't) take pictures in NYC then.....

Serious question on this though a lot of people bring up the 'fact' (i use the term loosely as i wonder if it's all just rumour!) that you can't take pictures in London and NYC and that you will be arrested under terrorism laws.

Having been to both cities - London im in on a regular basis with my camera - i can't say as i've personally experienced or witnessed anyone being told not to take pictures of anywhere. In fact in both cities police officers actively posed for pictures on a regular basis (we're a weird family who are nearly all in the police so it's kind of a thing to get cop shots round the world)...

So yeah.

These sort of threads always puzzle me. Who is it who gets stopped??

[Eastree]

I haven't been to Washington, D.C. as a tourist. I lived very near there a number of years ago, and work kept me a bit too busy to explore the city. A friend, however, who has been back more recently, said there are areas marked as OK or not OK to photograph, or from which people are or aren't allowed to photograph. She witnessed a child's camera being smashed because of this. It's also not so uncommon for police in "sensitive" (read: popular tourist) areas near government buildings in many places I've been to tell people they're not allowed to photograph there ... in public ... what's freely visible and already available to see on web sites, maps, etc., in much more thorough depictions than someone on the street can photograph.

And yes: Under the P.A.T.R.I.O.T. Act, if it's a suspected link to terrorism, the DHS can basically make someone disappear (arrest with no charges filed, all 'pending investigation') until they finalize the link to terrorism ... and then the questioning gets more intense. The arrest record may be kept private, so loved ones won't even have a way to find out what happened. Also, calling anyone (if the person should choose to do so) will basically implicate that other person in the charges by association, even though that is also illegal.

[BEGM83]

All for taking a photograph??

And this has actually happened?! I find that highly doubtful!