zlacker

>If I set up a camera in a local park and programmed it to zoom into children's faces and stream it directly to my computer, I am surely going to jail.

[citation needed]

You might be called a creep, and you might be asked to remove the camera (because you can't leave random cameras on public property without permission), but operating cameras in public and recording stuff isn't illegal. Paparazzis do that all the time.

>>gruez+(OP)
No, actually, how you do it matters.

If I use that information to track someone and watch them specifically, that is stalking and is illegal. I know it's illegal here in Texas.

The law is not an algorithm, it's very complex. Recording people in public is absolutely illegal in many instances.