NCIS v Photographer's rights—ACLU stands up for live streaming in "Warship Chicken" case
When the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore collapsed after being struck by the stricken Dali cargo ship, the world could have been watching live. Most folk weren't of course, but they could have been.
Baltimore is far from the only place with streaming cameras that viewers can sit and watch, though. In San Diego, a major Naval port, these webcams are popular with many (including military families). When the Key Bridge fell, the American Naval police – the NCIS – were in the courts trying to shut down similar cameras as a 'national security issue'.
Though the cameras had been around for years, in November 2022 there was a near miss when two US Navy vessels nearly hit each other. The ships were the dock landing ship USS Harpers Ferry (5120 tons dead weight / 11731 tons displacement) and the guided-missile destroyer USS Momsen (2381 tons dead weight / 7134 tons displacement).
A video clip of the incident went viral and was often tagged as 'Warship Chicken." The camera was on National Parks property (at a popular public viewing spot). As Forbes notes, being in a National Park made it vulnerable to government demands. NCIS requested they be taken down, but they didn't stop there.
A little later a camera caught a refitted ship that now looked 'bug-eyed' and, apparently, didn't enjoy the mockery from military geeks online. NCIS then made a similar demand of a camera on a private site.
What's interesting about this is that ships in the US with new warfare systems routinely pass the cameras. In times past Soviet or other surveillance ships would be hanging out in international waters to monitor naval ports, but now we're talking about things anyone can see from public or private land.
It's also noteworthy that NCIS's interest in these cameras came only when very public embarrassment – rather than a military risk – was at stake. Nonetheless the NCIS achieved its aim of shutting down the camera, even though it was in a public space capturing matters of public interest.
One of the enthusiasts behind the cameras, and very much a fan of the US military, Barry Bahrami pointed out that you could get a view for a quarter through telescopes in the area – something NCIS declined to comment on to the Navy Times when they investigated.
Ultimately the ACLU won, with the US government's attempt to side-step the First Amendment proving too thin for the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, some of the details the ACLU share on their own site. You can follow San Diego Web Cam 's range of new camera locations from a number of cameras on YouTube.
If you're interested in starting out, check our guide to the best cameras for streaming.
