An Act to ensure backyard privacy

This bill creates a legal right for homeowners and renters in Massachusetts to sue individuals who install video cameras on neighboring properties to record their backyards. It specifically targets the placement of imaging devices without written permission when the intent is to harass, annoy, alarm, or threaten the residents. The law defines a backyard as the area behind and to the sides of a house that extends beyond the building's footprint. Law enforcement officers conducting their official duties are exempt from this new restriction.