Sean Burke, Founder and Karen Bass, California Assembly Speaker
On June 3rd the California Assembly voted 41-12 in favor of a new anti-paparazzi bill (AB 2479) sponsored by Speaker Emeritus Karen Bass that seeks to amend the stalking law to make “surveillance”
“The paparazzi sit at the end of the driveways of celebrities day and night and then follow them whenever they leave their house. They wait outside preschools for celebrity children to emerge. It is similar to hunting an animal and can be very disturbing and frightening for the celebrities and children affected,” said Sean Burke, Founder of the PAPARAZZI Reform Initiative. “The real beauty of this new legislation is that it will help not only celebrities, but all Californians who are being stalked. Nine states and the District of Columbia already have ‘surveillance’
The PAPARAZZI Reform Initiative (www.paparazzi-
Available for expert commentary on the issues surrounding the paparazzi and their tactics:
Sean Burke - Founder and CEO of the Paparazzi Reform Initiative. Throughout his many years of working as a security professional in Hollywood, Mr. Burke personally witnessed the paparazzi harassment and abuse of his clients and other celebrities. Seeing the dangerousness getting worse, he established the PRI in an effort to educate the public on paparazzi aggression, lobby for stronger privacy laws and effect reform that restores order to our streets and the right to privacy not only for those in the spotlight, but for everyone in our society. Mr. Burke has worked closely with former California Speaker of the Assembly, Karen Bass, in support of her anti-paparazzi legislation that became law in January 1, 2010, and continues to help her fight for her current anti-paparazzi legislation that is now in the California Senate. Recognized as the leading voice in opposition to the paparazzi, Mr. Burke has been quoted in various news publications including the Wall Street Journal and Washington Post.
Patrick Alach – legal counsel for the PRI. Mr. Alach’s widely distributed work “Paparazzi and Privacy” was published by Loyola Law School’s Entertainment Law Review and was one of the key works used to help form the legal framework for the anti-paparazzi legislation that was signed into law by California Governor Schwarzenegger in October of 2009. The amended law and Mr. Alach’s involvement in shaping it were widely documented in the Wall Street Journal, Sacramento Bee and a host of other prominent news and online publications.
Contact:
Sean Burke
Founder of The PAPARAZZI Reform Initiative
Phone: (310) 954-0809
email: contact@
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