Privacy Protector
By Jacob Ward

Originally published in Wired 5.12, December 1997

Think of it as a paparazzi buster. The Sight Laser Detector 400 scans an area and picks up any and all optical lenses: light intensifiers, binoculars, and, perhaps most important, the cameras of overeager shutterbugs. Manufactured by the French company Cilas, the laser detector was originally developed to protect security forces from snipers using rifles with mounted telescopes. But Cilas, mindful of the technology's anti-paparazzi potential, plans to market the detector to public figures interested in a lower profile.

In Britain, where there are few legal guarantees on privacy, and in the US, where the law is blurry, the detector may be the most effective defense of privacy available. At the very least, it might save Alec Baldwin and Sean Penn a few trips to court - and keep their knuckles prettier, too.