I just found out that during a recent meal at Range in Chevy Chase, the restaurant filmed and kept tape of me and my dining companion.  This came to my attention after reading an October 2013 article in the WashPost magazine by Sietsema about Range where he described how the restaurant found out who had posted a negative comment about the service by reviewing camera footage.  The article quoted the owner as saying, "we're kind of 'Big Brother' here,"  Unless I expressly grant permission, I don't want any restaurant in which I dine to film me.  I advocate a boycott of Range until the cameras are removed.  Think about it: whose business is it where and when you eat, what you eat, with whom, etc.?

When you're out in public you have no expectation of privacy.

I agree A. S.! That's extremely creepy! I get a lot of things are monitored nowadays, but who goes back and watches the footage carefully to identify the negative reviewer?!? And why do they need that information anyways? So that next time they can mess with your food? I doubt they'll stop the taping of customers, since they could always say it's a safety precaution, but you can warn everyone about this so they can go at their own discretion.

AS

Privacy does not exist anymore.

Uncle Sam already knows everything about you and each of us get recorded hundreds of times a day.  They already know you were with an unidentified woman or women on each occasion by phone  and cell tower details of each.

The restaurant should post a sign saying 'Sam and i are both watching your every move. '

I would edit my review to indicate they record the restaurant patrons.

In a district where it's common for law makers to associate with 21 year old interns it is useful to know which restaurants to avoid being on trolltube.

Best to move to a country where they have no technology

Its a sad state of affairs here

Do they have cameras in the bathrooms?

This day and age I wouldn't be surprised if they did Mic and they can get away with it due to "security concerns".

@ mic

The correct question is

Which public restrooms don't have hidden cameras?

Which websites specialize in hidden camera videos?

Some negative reviews on Yelp are so overly dramatic anyway and I am pretty sure that those people over-exaggerate their experience. I am assuming that the restaurant is using the footage to verify the accuracy of what the person wrote and monitor their employees on how they handled the situation in dealing with demanding customers.

There is no expectation of privacy in a public space, sorry. A security cam in the sink area of a bathroom wouldn't be unheard of, but I'm almost positive it isn't legal to film the stalls or urinals, etc. (but I haven't researched this so who knows).

I think we need to define 'privacy'. Being filmed in a public space isn't invading your privacy, it's about being filmed without permission. Privacy and Permission are two different things.

^Exactly. But as long as they aren't using the film for profit or sharing it with anyone else, they don't need your permission to film you.