Modern media – including social media and reality television programming – facilitate privacy invasions, both for those who invite scrutiny and those who do not. This panel examines calls for heightened legal protection for privacy in the age of over-exposure, focusing on the example of Me @ the Zoo, a Sundance Film Festival documentary that follows Chris Crocker, a young person who became an international celebrity when he posted videos to YouTube, including one begging us to “Leave Britney [Spears] alone.” As Chris Crocker plainly experienced, and as he and the filmmaker will explain in greater detail, a user’s video posted for a small group can propel someone onto a sometimes adoring, sometimes mocking international stage.
In the same way, reality television can operate to make accidental stars of those who may unwittingly accept a role without recognizing the depth of potential privacy invasions. Tia Maria Torres, star of Animal Planet’s Pit Bulls and Parolees, has experienced the positive side of reality television and will share her experience.
Through these stories, we hope to explore the new media celebrities and ask whether privacy law should change to accommodate them.
Business Meeting at Program Conclusion.