[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 91 (Thursday, June 19, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Page S8245]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. DeWINE (for himself and Mr. Schumer):
  S. 1301. A bill to amend title 18, United States Code, to prohibit 
video voyeurism in the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of 
the United States, and of other purposes; to the Committee on the 
Judiciary.
  Mr. DeWINE. Mr. President, I rise today, along with the Senator from 
New York, Mr. Schumer, to introduce the Video Voyeurism Prevention Act 
of 2003. Our legislation would criminalize the appalling practice of 
filming or photographing victims without their knowledge or consent 
under circumstances violating their privacy.
  Video voyeurism encompasses what is referred to as ``upskirting'' or 
``downshirting.'' As the terms imply, this subset of video voyeurism 
involves the use of a tiny, undetectable camera to film up the skirt or 
down the shirt of an unsuspecting target, most often a woman. One of my 
constituents from Ohio became the victim of this shocking invasion of 
privacy while she was innocently enjoying a church festival with her 
16-month old daughter. I would like to read you what she told the 
Cincinnati Enquirer newspaper in an article published on October 10, 
2000:

       As I crouched down to put the baby in my stroller, I saw a 
     video camera sticking out of his bag, taping up my dress. . . 
     . It rocked my whole sense of security.

  According to an ABCNEWS.com article that also published this story, 
this particular perpetrator had surreptitiously filmed a total of 13 
women that day. Sadly, this is not an isolated event. The widespread 
availability of low-cost, high-resolution cameras has lead to an 
increase in the number of high-profile cases of ``video-voyeurism'' all 
over our country. Reports of women being secretly videotaped through 
their clothing at shopping malls, amusement parks, and other public 
places are far too common.
  The impact of video voyeurism on its victims is greatly exacerbated 
by the Internet. As a result of Internet technology, the pictures that 
a voyeur captures can be disseminated to a worldwide audience in a 
matter of seconds. A State representative from Ohio, Representative Ed 
Jerse, stated it best when he told ABC News that when a woman's picture 
is posted on the Web, her privacy ``could be violated millions of 
times.''
  Fortunately, my home State of Ohio has enacted a law that 
specifically targets video voyeurism. But Ohio is one of only a few 
States that have such a law. That means that in most areas around the 
country, victims of this practice are not only deprived of their 
security and their privacy but are left without any recourse against 
their perpetrator. As the defense attorney for one video voyeur aptly 
observed, ``the criminal law necessarily lags behind technology and 
human ingenuity.''
  Our Video Voyeurism Prevention Act of 2003 seeks to close the gap in 
the law and ensure that video voyeurs will be punished for their acts. 
Our bill would make it a crime to videotape, photograph, film, or 
otherwise electronically record the naked or undergarment-clad 
genitals, pubic area, buttocks, or female breast of an individual 
without that individual's consent. This bill would help ensure that 
when a person has a reasonable expectation that he or she will not be 
videoed, filmed, or photographed as I have just described, that 
expectation of privacy will be recognized in and protected by the law. 
Additionally, our bill would make certain that perpetrators of video 
voyeurism are punished, by imposing a sentence of a fine or 
imprisonment for up to 1 year.
  Importantly, however, the mens rea requirements included in this bill 
guarantee that only those who are truly guilty of this crime will be 
punished. To be charged with video voyeurism, an actor must intend to 
capture the prohibited image and must knowingly do so.
  In closing, I strongly encourage my colleagues to support the Video 
Voyeurism Prevention Act of 2003. This legislation would help safeguard 
the privacy we all take for granted and would help ensure that our 
criminal law reflects the realities of our rapidly changing technology.
  I ask unanimous consent that the text of our bill be printed at the 
conclusion of my remarks.

                                 S. 1301

       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 ``Video Voyeurism Prevention 
     Act of 2003''.

     SEC. 2. PROHIBITION OF VIDEO VOYEURISM.

       (a) In General.--Title 18, United States Code, is amended 
     by inserting after chapter 87 the following new chapter:

                         ``CHAPTER 88--PRIVACY

``Sec.
``1801. Video voyeurism.

     ``Sec. 1801. Video voyeurism

       ``(a) Whoever, in the special maritime and territorial 
     jurisdiction of the United States, having the intent to 
     capture an improper image of an individual, knowingly does so 
     under circumstances violating the privacy of that individual, 
     shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 
     one year, or both.
       ``(b) In this section--
       ``(1) the term `captures', with respect to an image, means 
     videotapes, photographs, films, or records by any electronic 
     means;
       ``(2) the term `improper image', with respect to an 
     individual, means an image, captured without the consent of 
     that individual, of the naked or undergarment clad genitals, 
     pubic area, buttocks, or female breast of that individual; 
     and
       ``(3) the term `under circumstances violating the privacy 
     of that individual' means under circumstances in which the 
     individual exhibits an expectation that the improper image 
     would not be made, in a situation in which a reasonable 
     person would be justified in that expectation.''.
       (b) Amendment to Part Analysis.--The table of chapters at 
     the beginning of part I of title 18, United States Code, is 
     amended by inserting after the item relating to chapter 87 
     the following new item:

1801''.vacy..........................................................

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