Alabama Senate anti-voyeurism bill makes ‘upskirting’ illegal

The Alabama Senate on Thursday passed a bill that would make it illegal to secretly take video or photos under a person’s clothes — a lewd act sometimes referred to as “upskirting” — without their consent in places where a person should have reasonable expectation of privacy

Under existing law, it is a crime to distribute a private image with the intent to  harass, threaten, coerce, or intimidate the person depicted. Prattville-Republican state Sen. Clyde Chambliss introduced SB57 to establish the crime of voyeurism in the first and second degree and provide penalties.

The bill creates both a first and second degree crime of voyeurism.

Under the legislation, it is a first-degree crime of voyeurism —  when someone films or photographs the “intimate areas” of another person “for the purpose of arousing or gratifying the sexual desire of any person.” The bill stipulates that a first-degree crime is a Class C felony. A second-degree crime of voyeurism —when someone films or photographs another person “whether through, under, or around clothing, with the intent to distribute or disseminate the photograph or film, without that  person’s knowledge and consent” — would be a Class A misdemeanor.

The bill passed the Senate 27 to 0. It now moves to the House of Representatives.