‘Steven Tyler Act’ passed by Hawaii to keep paparazzi away

With awards season underway, the paparazzi are out in full force, trying to capture the trophy winning celebrities in their fanciest garb. However, celebrity–friendly states, most recently Hawaii, are fighting back against invasive paparazzi techniques in order to protect their famous residents. The Hawaii Senate Judiciary Committee recently passed the “Steven Tyler Act,” an anti–paparazzi bill. According to the Reporters Committee, the bill has successfully passed its first hurdle to becoming law, and it would take effect on July 1, 2013.

Aerosmith’s lead singer, Steven Tyler, purchased a $4.8-million home on Maui in January 2012. Tyler, fed up with the paparazzi’s antics, initiated the bill and testified before the committee saying that although dealing with the paparazzi in public was “part of the deal [but], when I’m in my own home and I’m taking a shower or changing clothes or eating or spending Christmas with my children, and I see paparazzi a mile away, shooting at me with lenses this long . . . you know, it hurts.”

The Hawaii legislature found that “sometimes the paparazzi go too far to disturb the peace and tranquillity afforded celebrities who escape for a quiet life.” Therefore, the stated purpose of the Steven Tyler Act “is to encourage celebrities to visit and reside in our state by creating a civil cause of action for the constructive invasion of privacy.”