Hidden camera laws in Maine

The actual statute, in plain English — not a paraphrase of a paraphrase.

The statute

17-A M.R.S. § 511 (Violation of Privacy)

What it prohibits

Maine bans installing or using a device inside a "private place" — changing rooms, bathrooms, and similar spaces where a person may reasonably expect to be safe from surveillance — to observe, photograph, record, or broadcast without the consent of the person entitled to privacy there. Also covers trespass-based surveillance, exterior surveillance capturing what wouldn’t ordinarily be visible, and public-place "upskirt" recording.

Penalty

Class D crime for the base offense; enhanced where the victim is under 16 or the conduct is sexually motivated against a victim under 16.

This is general public information, not legal advice, verified against the statute text linked below as of this writing — legislatures amend these laws periodically (Florida renamed its own statute in 2024). If this matters for a real situation, read the current text yourself or talk to a lawyer: https://legislature.maine.gov/legis/statutes/17-A/title17-Asec511.html. Separately, recording audio of a conversation is governed by a different law (wiretap/eavesdropping statutes, which vary by state on whether one party or all parties must consent) — this page covers image/video capture only.

If you've actually found something, the statute matters less than what you do next: read the six steps here.

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Other states

MississippiMiss. Code Ann. § 97-29-63 (Photographing or Filming Another Without Permission Where There Is Expectation of Privacy) MontanaMont. Code Ann. § 45-5-223 (Surreptitious Visual Observation or Recordation) NebraskaNeb. Rev. Stat. § 28-311.08 (Unlawful Intrusion; Photograph, Film, or Record Intimate Area; Distribute) New HampshireRSA 644:9 (Violation of Privacy) New MexicoNMSA 1978 § 30-9-20 (Voyeurism Prohibited; Penalties) North DakotaN.D.C.C. § 12.1-20-12.2 (Surreptitious Intrusion) OregonORS § 163.700 (Invasion of Personal Privacy in the Second Degree) Rhode IslandR.I. Gen. Laws § 11-64-2 (Video Voyeurism)