On July 23, the Senate Judiciary Committee approved, by voice vote, the Video Voyeurism Prevention Act (S. 1301).
Sponsored by Sens. Mike DeWine (R-OH) and Charles Schumer (D-NY), the bill would make it a federal crime to knowingly “capture,” by videotaping, filming, or photographing, an “improper image” of another individual, defined in the bill as “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…”
Several states have approved laws to address the growing incidence of such crimes. The bill would apply only to federal jurisdictions.
A substitute amendment by Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) was adopted, by voice vote, to revise the definition of “capture” to include the projection of an image, even if it was not recorded, on the Internet or other forums.
