Video Voyeurism

Responding to ACLU free speech concerns, the legislature significantly amended a bill to ban “video voyeurism” before approving it. The bill was prompted by a case where a man was accused of using a cell phone camera to take pictures up an unsuspecting woman’s skirt, and police appeared to lack any strong laws to prosecute the suspect. While supportive of the bill’s concept, the ACLU raised concerns about its breadth as originally introduced. It would have made it a crime to take any picture of a person without consent, even in public places, if it was for “arousing,” “degrading” or other purposes. Legislative committees accepted amendments proposed by the ACLU to more appropriately narrow the bill’s scope.