[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8027 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 8027

To authorize a civil right of action for individuals affected by video 
                   voyeurism, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 16, 2024

Ms. Mace (for herself and Mr. Green of Texas) introduced the following 
       bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To authorize a civil right of action for individuals affected by video 
                   voyeurism, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Sue Victimizers and Offenders who 
Yield Explicit Unconsented Recordings Surreptitiously Act'' or the 
``Sue VOYEURS Act''.

SEC. 2. INTIMATE VISUAL DEPICTIONS.

    Title XIII of division W of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 
2022, is amended by inserting after section 1309 the following:

``SEC. 1309A. CIVIL ACTION RELATING TO CAPTURE OF INTIMATE IMAGES.

    ``(a) Civil Action.--
            ``(1) Right of action.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph 
                (3), an individual whose intimate visual depiction is 
                captured, in a circumstance described in paragraph (4), 
                without the consent of the individual, where such 
                capture is done by a person who knows that, or 
                recklessly disregards whether, the individual has not 
                consented to the capture, and does so under 
                circumstances in which the individual has a reasonable 
                expectation of privacy, may bring a civil action 
                against that person in an appropriate district court of 
                the United States for relief as set forth in paragraph 
                (2).
                    ``(B) Rights on behalf of certain individuals.--In 
                the case of an individual who is under 18 years of age, 
                incompetent, incapacitated, or deceased, the legal 
                guardian of the individual or representative of the 
                individual's estate, another family member, or any 
                other person appointed as suitable by the court, may 
                assume the individual's rights under this section, but 
                in no event shall the defendant be named as such 
                representative or guardian.
            ``(2) Relief.--
                    ``(A) In general.--In a civil action filed under 
                this section--
                            ``(i) an individual may recover the actual 
                        damages sustained by the individual or 
                        liquidated damages in the amount of $150,000 
                        for each intimate visual depiction captured of 
                        the individual, and the cost of the action, 
                        including reasonable attorney's fees and other 
                        litigation costs reasonably incurred; and
                            ``(ii) the court may, in addition to any 
                        other relief available at law, order equitable 
                        relief, including a temporary restraining 
                        order, a preliminary injunction, or a permanent 
                        injunction ordering the defendant to cease 
                        display or disclosure of the visual depiction.
                    ``(B) Preservation of anonymity.--In ordering 
                relief under subparagraph (A), the court may grant 
                injunctive relief maintaining the confidentiality of a 
                plaintiff using a pseudonym.
            ``(3) Exception.--An individual may not bring an action for 
        relief under this section relating to the actions of a law 
        enforcement officer or agency, conducting surveillance pursuant 
        to a lawfully issued warrant.
            ``(4) Circumstance described.--For the purposes of 
        paragraph (1), the circumstances described in this paragraph 
        are that--
                    ``(A) the individual traveled in interstate or 
                foreign commerce, or traveled using a means, channel, 
                facility, or instrumentality of interstate or foreign 
                commerce, in furtherance of or in connection with the 
                conduct described in paragraph (1);
                    ``(B) the individual used a means, channel, 
                facility, or instrumentality of interstate or foreign 
                commerce in furtherance of or in connection with the 
                conduct described in paragraph (1);
                    ``(C) any payment of any kind was made, directly or 
                indirectly, in furtherance of or in connection with the 
                conduct described in paragraph (1) using any means, 
                channel, facility, or instrumentality of interstate or 
                foreign commerce or in or affecting interstate or 
                foreign commerce;
                    ``(D) the individual transmitted in interstate or 
                foreign commerce any communication relating to or in 
                furtherance of the conduct described in paragraph (1) 
                using any means, channel, facility, or instrumentality 
                of interstate or foreign commerce or in or affecting 
                interstate or foreign commerce by any means or in 
                manner, including by computer, mail, wire, or 
                electromagnetic transmission;
                    ``(E) any equipment, item, or other object that has 
                traveled in interstate or foreign commerce was used to 
                perform the conduct described in paragraph (1);
                    ``(F) the conduct described in paragraph (1) 
                occurred within the special maritime and territorial 
                jurisdiction of the United States, or any territory or 
                possession of the United States; or
                    ``(G) the conduct described in paragraph (1) 
                otherwise occurred in or affected interstate or foreign 
                commerce.
    ``(b) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) Broadcast.--The term `broadcast' means to 
        electronically transmit a visual image with the intent that it 
        be viewed by a person or persons.
            ``(2) Capture.--The term `capture', with respect to an 
        image, means to videotape, photograph, film, record by any 
        means, or broadcast.
            ``(3) Consent.--The term `consent' means an affirmative, 
        conscious, competent, and voluntary authorization made by the 
        individual free from force, fraud, misrepresentation, or 
        coercion.
            ``(4) Intimate visual depiction.--The term `intimate visual 
        depiction'--
                    ``(A) means a visual depiction, as that term is 
                defined in section 2256(5) of title 18, United States 
                Code, that depicts--
                            ``(i) the naked or undergarment clad 
                        private area of an individual; or
                            ``(ii) the display or transfer of bodily 
                        sexual fluids--
                                    ``(I) on to any part of the body of 
                                an individual;
                                    ``(II) from the body of an 
                                individual; or
                            ``(iii) an individual engaging in sexually 
                        explicit conduct; and
                    ``(B) includes any visual depictions described in 
                subparagraph (A) produced while the individual was in a 
                public place only if the individual did not--
                            ``(i) voluntarily display the content 
                        depicted; or
                            ``(ii) consent to the sexual conduct 
                        depicted;
            ``(5) Private area.--The term `private area' means, with 
        respect to an individual, the genitals, pubic area, anus, 
        buttocks, or female nipple of that individual.
            ``(6) Sexually explicit conduct.--The term `sexually 
        explicit conduct' has the meaning given to the term in 
        subparagraph (A) of section 2256(2) of title 18, United States 
        Code.
            ``(7) Under circumstances in which that individual has a 
        reasonable expectation of privacy.--The term `under 
        circumstances in which that individual has a reasonable 
        expectation of privacy' means--
                    ``(A) circumstances in which a reasonable person 
                would believe that he or she could disrobe in privacy, 
                without being concerned that an image of a private area 
                of the individual was being captured; or
                    ``(B) circumstances in which a reasonable person 
                would believe that a private area of the individual 
                would not be visible to the public, regardless of 
                whether that person is in a public or private place.''.
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