Was it illegal for the family who Malcolm baby sat for to film him?

[Yesnomaybepod]

In season 1 episode 5 the family who Malcolm babysat for secretly filmed him. In addition, they kept tapes of him with creepy names, including curious scratching and used our bathroom.

Is this illegal? Because it seems unusual and the way the parents sat and watched the videos drinking wine was really creepy.

 

[tjpeople]

Welcome! And thanks for your post. Definitely creepy - unsure if it’s strictly illegal as they owned the house and it’s their private space. However I’m not a lawyer!

 

[Sweet_Pie]

I'm not sure if it's illegal or not, but just like tjpeople said, it is definitely creepy.

 

[Richiepiep]

Interesting question! Nowadays, lots of people have installed surveillance cameras in their homes, but I don't know if it's illegal if they don't inform all visitors that they are being filmed. At least there's likely to be a difference between private use at home, and use in public spaces.

At any rate, in the end, it is revealed that, because of this practice of secretly snooping on Malcolm, the supposed "ideal family" is far from ideal, and they have betrayed his trust in them.

One tape of him is labelled "Curious scratching", which as you say could signal improper interest (or could just refer to the bugs which have infested Malcolm's house and maybe clothes), and in the end it is implied that the wife has a lesbian affair: "Who's Melissa?". So it's very likely they have lots of skeletons in their closets!

Rich