In dealing with the apparent scourge of upskirt photography, a key Indiana Senate committee will consider a proposed bill Tuesday by State Sen. Tom Wyss (R-Fort Wayne) that would make it illegal to take or distribute pictures or video of a person’s private areas.
The bill would establish the new crime of “Invasion of Privacy by Photography,” a Class A misdemeanor. A crime is committed if a person, with the intent to: (1) gratify the person’s sexual desires; (2) humiliate or embarrass the victim; or (3) publish, transmit, or disseminate the photograph; surreptitiously photographs the private area of an individual under circumstances in which a reasonable person would believe that the individual’s private area would not be visible to the public.
The penalty is increased to a Class D felony if the person knowingly or intentionally publishes, transmits, or otherwise disseminates the photograph.
Full text of the proposed bill:
IC 35-45-4-6 IS ADDED TO THE INDIANA CODE
Sec. 6. (a) As used in this section, “private area” means the naked or undergarment clad genitals, pubic area, or buttocks of an individual.
(b) A person who, without the consent of the individual:
(1) knowingly or intentionally:
(A) surreptitiously photographs, video records, or captures a digital image of the private area of an individual by means of camera, a video camera, or any other type of video recording device, whether or not the photograph, video, or image is permanently saved; or
(B) performs an act described in clause (A) under circumstances in which a reasonable person would believe that the individual’s private area would not be visible to the public; and
(2) performs the act described in subdivision (1) with the intent to:
(A) gratify the sexual desires of the person;
(B) humiliate or embarrass the individual; or
(C) publish, transmit, or otherwise disseminate the photograph, video, or digital image; commits invasion of privacy by photography, a Class A misdemeanor. However, the offense is a Class D felony if the person knowingly or intentionally publishes the photograph, video, or digital image or otherwise knowingly or intentionally transmits or disseminates the photograph, video, or digital image to another person.
Members of the Senate Committee on Corrections, Criminal and Civil Matters will review the bill on Tuesday, January 11 at 9 a.m. in Room 130 of the Statehouse. The law would become effective on July 1, 2011.
My initial thoughts: I didn’t realize that upskirt photography was such a big deal but it shouldn’t come as a surprise given that everyone has a small camera or cameraphone in their hands nowadays and fashion often involves half-fallen-off clothing. I expect this bill, like many others, is actually just one piece of a much larger puzzle. An immediate concern with the bill is its potential for arbitrary enforcement. First, in what places would a individual’s private area be considered reasonably visible to the public? Las Vegas? The beach? A half-marathon? If a person has their private area willingly exposed (I’m looking at you, Indy 500 crowd), is it now illegal to take photos or do they give implied consent to the entire crowd? If you take a photo of a person and accidentally catch a crotch shot, are you now a criminal?
A person who, without consent, knowingly surreptitiously photographs the private area of an individual by means of a camera with the intent to publish the photograph. By my reading, this could include almost any photo you might take of someone running the Mini to post on Facebook or a blog if the photo shows their “private area.” If that’s the case, the language of this bill definitely needs to be tightened up to avoid potentially draconian enforcement.
Presumably, the state government and businesses would also have to abide by this law, in which case it could serve as a strong shield against the ever-encroaching security/surveillance industry. Just to be certain, it would be nice if this bill specifically included not only “persons” but also organizations and surveillance cameras.
Better yet, here’s a possible “real world” solution…Get over the outdated concept of “private areas.” There are now over 6 billion people on the planet. About half have a penis and about half have a vagina. Acknowledge this biological fact and move on…really, kids age 4 understand this.
I’ll keep you updated as the bill proceeds.
The deviant activity this law is intended to address is certainly worthy of being addressed. Like you, I’m almost as afraid of the law as the activity. It should be more carefully considered and written with much more specific language.
Looks like FOX news commited a felony by this new laws standard see link:
http://www.videosurf.com/video/fox-news-upskirts-extended-version-wmv-1202652458
We live in a guilty man innocent women society. Man wants to see as much of woman as possible never are we uniterested in seeing a little more. You were cloths that are exposing more and more thanks but dont send us to jail for looking and dont put these kinds of cloths on kids idiots! After seeing the video link above it has became very apperant to me that the blame needs to be shifted more to the person(s) in the skirt and less on the guy looking. A woman in a short skirt cannot expect to not have her panties be accedently or purposfully photographed or viewed. If you sit down or go up a stairs they are showing the world there underware and they know it. Im sure it is a rush or exciting thrill for you having all that attention. You cant pick and choose what guys are looking. It cant even be avoided by FOX news Pro video guys. If you want the right to turn heads dont try to send the turned heads to jail. Men are made to look it is the nature of things you are trying to make laws that make it illeagal to be a man. Men cannot help but look when you show your goods off in such a way. We all have cell phones and cameras in our hands now what a temptation Shut up or put pants on LOL!!