[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 138 (Tuesday, December 7, 2004)]
[Senate]
[Pages S11876-S11877]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 VIDEO VOYEURISM PREVENTION ACT OF 2004

  Mr. ALEXANDER. Mr. President, I ask the Chair lay before the Senate a 
message from the House of Representatives on the bill (S. 1301) to 
amend title 18, United States Code, to prohibit video voyeurism in the 
special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States, and 
for other purposes.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER laid before the Senate the following message 
from the House of Representatives:

                                S. 1301

       Resolved, That the bill from the Senate (S. 1301) entitled 
     ``An Act to amend title 18, United States Code, to prohibit 
     video voyeurism in the special maritime and territorial 
     jurisdiction of the United States, and for other purposes'', 
     do pass with the following amendment:
       Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert:

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Video Voyeurism Prevention 
     Act of 2004''.

     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, has the intent to capture 
     an image of a private area of an individual without their 
     consent, and knowingly does so under circumstances in which 
     the individual has a reasonable expectation of privacy, shall 
     be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than one 
     year, or both.
       ``(b) In this section--
       ``(1) the term `capture', with respect to an image, means 
     to videotape, photograph, film, record by any means, or 
     broadcast;
       ``(2) the term `broadcast' means to electronically transmit 
     a visual image with the intent that it be viewed by a person 
     or persons;
       ``(3) the term `a private area of the individual' means the 
     naked or undergarment clad genitals, pubic area, buttocks, or 
     female breast of that individual;
       ``(4) the term `female breast' means any portion of the 
     female breast below the top of the areola; and
       ``(5) 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.
       ``(c) This section does not prohibit any lawful law 
     enforcement, correctional, or intelligence activity.''.
       (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:

``88. Privacy...................................................1801''.

  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I am pleased that the Senate is poised to 
pass S. 1301, the DeWine-Schumer-Leahy Video Voyeurism Prevention Act 
of 2004. This bill targets the pernicious practice of invading a 
person's privacy through the surreptitious use of hidden surveillance 
equipment. Specifically, the bill makes it a crime to capture an 
improper, naked, or near-naked image of a person without his or her 
consent, and in such a way as to violate his or her privacy. Any person 
found guilty of video voyeurism as outlined in the bill may be fined or 
imprisoned for up to 1 year or both.
  In recent years, the explosion of microcamera technology has fed the 
growing phenomenon of video voyeurism. Hidden cameras have been 
discovered in bedrooms, bathrooms, public showers, changing rooms, 
locker rooms, and tanning salons, all aimed at filming unsuspecting 
victims in various states of undress. Often, the invasion of privacy is 
exacerbated when captured images are posted on the Internet for all the 
world to see.
  I commend Senators DeWine and Schumer for bringing this invasive 
practice to the attention of the Judiciary Committee and for crafting a 
bill that addresses it in a thoughtful and measured manner. In 
addition, I thank them for addressing a concern I raised during the 
committee's consideration of the bill. As introduced, the bill did not 
expressly prohibit ``cyber-peeping''--a particularly offensive form of 
video voyeurism involving the contemporaneous transmission of improper 
images of a non-consenting person over the Internet through Web cameras 
and other means. As reported by the Judiciary Committee, the ``cyber-
peeping'' loophole has been closed: The bill before the Senate today 
covers the simultaneous Web casting of images or any other 
transmissions that may not be recorded so that defendants who use this 
means of violating people's privacy cannot escape punishment.
  The National Center for Victims of Crime has dubbed video voyeurism 
``the new frontier of stalking.'' The States are already responding to 
this ``new frontier'' in many different ways. Some have passed video 
voyeurism laws; others have addressed the conduct within the context of 
their laws against stalking. The Video Voyeurism Prevention Act brings 
the Federal criminal laws to bear on those who commit this offense 
within the special maritime or territorial jurisdiction of the United 
States. It should be enacted without delay.
  Mr. DeWINE. Mr. President, I rise today in support of passage of the 
Video Voyeurism Prevention Act of 2004. This act would help safeguard 
the privacy we all value, and help ensure that our criminal law 
reflects the realities of rapidly changing technology. It would do this 
by prohibiting both the filming of and taking compromising pictures of 
people in places where they expect privacy the most. This important 
legislation would give prosecutors

[[Page S11877]]

and law enforcement officers the tools they need to fully prosecute 
these disturbing acts, acts that have, tragically, become more and more 
prevalent.
  For example, a woman in my home State of Ohio became a victim of 
video voyeurism while she attended a church picnic with her young 
daughter. She told the Cincinnati Enquirer that, ``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.'' The law needs to say clearly that such an act is illegal.
  As disturbing as these acts are, they are occurring with increasing 
frequency and are going unpunished. Almost weekly, there are reports of 
cameras found in public bathrooms and changing rooms. Just recently, an 
employee of the New Mexico Department of Transportation had installed a 
tiny camera in an office restroom. What makes these crimes even more 
troubling is the ease with which these images can be transmitted to 
countless people via the Internet. Now, not only has an individual been 
victimized by having per picture taken, she faces the possibility of 
millions more seeing those pictures in cyberspace.
  While video voyeurism is currently illegal in over 30 States, 
including Ohio, there are still areas where prosecutors are unable to 
file charges for these crimes. As the defense attorney for one video 
voyeur aptly observed, ``The criminal law necessarily lags behind 
technology and human ingenuity.''
  This legislation takes an important step toward ensuring a person 
that he or she will not be filmed or photographed where there is a 
reasonable expectation of privacy on Federal land, like at a national 
park. Additionally, the bill makes certain that perpetrators of video 
voyeurism are punished, by imposing a sentence of a fine or 
imprisonment for up to 1 year.
  I thank my colleagues for supporting the legislation.
  Mr. ALEXANDER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate 
concur in the House amendment, the motion to reconsider be laid upon 
the table, and that any statements relating to the bill be printed in 
the Record.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

                          ____________________