The U.S. House of Representatives joined the Senate Tuesday in passing
privacy protections against video voyeurism. The House bill makes it a crime
to engage in illicit photography or “cyber peeking” on federal property.
The legislation calls for maximum fines of $100,000 with possible jail time
of up to one year. Bill author Mike Oxley (R-Ohio) said the legislation is
narrowly limited to federal lands to serve as a model law for states.
Similar legislation has already passed the Senate. Minor differences between
the two bills are expected to be quickly resolved and the legislation sent
to President Bush.
According to the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC), the Internet,
combined with cell phone cameras, PDAs and a host other miniature lens, has
turned surreptitiously obtained video into a sport for many voyeurs.
EPIC says cyber peeking is often focused on fetish photographs taken from
cameras mounted on shoe tops, labels and hats. In addition, law enforcement
authorities report a steady increase of hidden cameras in bedrooms,
bathrooms, public showers, locker rooms and tanning salons. From there,
millions of photographs and video hit the Internet.
“For the victim, it’s embarrassing and degrading to be photographed in a
compromised position. It’s an invasion of personal privacy,” Oxley said in
his floor statement.
The Video Voyeurism Prevention Act of 2003 (S. 1301) prohibits photography
of certain parts of an individual’s unclothed body or undergarments without
his or her consent.
Oxley, a former FBI agent, originally introduced his measure in 2002 but the
legislation originated little interest among fellow lawmakers. As cell phone
cameras exploded in popularity and practices such as image alteration where
the face of one person is digitally edited to appear on the naked body of
another became more widespread, the 108th Congress began steadily moving the
legislation to the president’s desk.
In July, the Senate Judiciary Committee approved legislation sponsored by
Mike DeWine (R-Ohio) and Charles Schumer (D-NY) prohibiting capturing an
improper, naked or near-naked image of a non-consenting person in such a way
as to violate his or her privacy.
Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) successfully amended the bill to include
“cyber-peepers” who transmit streaming video over the Internet through Web
cameras and other means. The bill covers the simultaneous webcasting of
images over the Internet.
