The Video Voyeurism Prevention Act, sponsored by US Representative Michael Oxley of Ohio, will now be considered by the full House. A similar bill championed by Senator Mike DeWine, also of Ohio, has already passed the Senate. (In the US, unlike the UK, bills are often referred to as "Acts" before being passed.)
"There are gaps in current law that can make it hard to prosecute people who take pictures of others in compromised situations," said Oxley, a former FBI agent. "Victims need protection against this intrusive technology."
The law is brief. It states that:
"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."
It goes on to define " improper image" with respect to an individual as meaning:
"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."
The term "under circumstances violating the privacy of that individual" is defined as meaning:
"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."
The measure is also intended to serve as a model for states that either have not enacted, or may want to strengthen, their own laws against video voyeurism, in response to recurring "up-skirt" photography stories in the media detailing the abuse of small cameras in gyms, dressing rooms and homes.
A date for floor time for the bill has not yet been scheduled.