New Jersey Outlaws Video Voyeurism

NEW JERSEY – As video and cell cam voyeurism become a popular pastime among curious, technology-savvy users, the legalities surrounding capturing the image of someone without consent is becoming a hot topic among nationwide lawmakers. Especially when that image shows up on a porn site.

In incidents involving voyeurism in bathrooms, dressing rooms, locker rooms, showers, or just on the street where bystanders can be captured unaware, penalties for the average 21st Century peeping Tom are still fairly minimal and many people claiming to be victims of technology-enhanced voyeurism are calling for stiffer penalties and protection.

New Jersey is the latest state to step forward and outlaw clandestine videotaping by reversing a current law that makes secret videotaping nothing more punishable than a trespassing violation.

But the new law, passed this week, makes a huge leap forward in terms of putting a halt to video voyeurism that in some cases ends up on the Internet.

Lawmakers agreed on Tuesday to make video voyeurism a third degree crime. According to Infinity Broadcasting, selling, publishing, and distributing videotape made without permission can carry a possible sentence of up to five years in prison and $15,000 in fines.

The New Jersey State Senate voted unanimously to approve the bill, as did the New Jersey Assembly. The state's governor is currently reviewing the bill.

New York is already one step ahead of New Jersey. Video voyeurism in the Big Apple can land a peeping Tom or misinformed porn entrepreneur in jail for up to seven years.

A report from Infinity Broadcasting states that the New York law was inspired in August of this year after a landlord hid a video camera in his tenant's apartment above her bed for months on end. The landlord was sentenced at the time to three years probation.

The issue of voyeurism goes beyond videotaping laws as cell phones with attachable cameras or embedded digital camera functionality are opening the floodgates to invasion of privacy issues and copyright infringement when it comes to the photographing of artwork or movies that are then uploaded onto the Internet. Not to mention taking hidden shots of naked locker room bodies and posting them for the world to see.

In June of this year, Washington State made photographing or videotaping up a person's skirt a felony and worthy of a year in jail after a man in a supermarket used his cell cam to photograph a woman's underwear while she shopped for groceries with her infant child.

The man was charged with a felony under state law and was released on $25,000 bail.

According to Wired, cell phones with camera capability are prohibited in gym locker rooms in Hong Kong, and public places that typically disallow the use of cameras are now facing a new set of challenges, especially as sales for cell phones with digital camera capabilities are on the rise by 65 percent. Most of that sales activity is being seen in Asia and Western Europe, with the U.S. trailing behind.

By the end of 2003, worldwide sales of cell phone cameras are expected to be between 40 million and 65 million.

Wired added that while cell cam pictures appear blurry on the low-resolution screen of a phone, they can appear vivid over the Internet, and there is rising concerns over the potential for increased voyeurism with these small, nearly undetectable devices.

"The clandestine camera is a hornet's nest for potential social issues," Seamus McAteer, an analyst for Zelos Group, told Wired.

Copyright © 2025 Adnet Media. All Rights Reserved. XBIZ is a trademark of Adnet Media.
Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission is prohibited.

More News

Ukrainian Content Creators on Hook for Nearly $10M in Back Taxes

Content creators in Ukraine owe the equivalent of $9.3 million in back taxes, according to the country's State Tax Service.

European Patent Office Board of Appeals Revokes EIS GmbH Patent

The European Patent Office (EPO) Board of Appeals last week ruled in favor of pleasure brand LELO in the company's ongoing dispute with Satisfyer parent company EIS GmbH.

Update: Pornhub Will Not Block Ohio, Despite AV Law

Pornhub parent company Aylo will not block access to its websites in Ohio, despite new state age verification rules that came into effect Sept. 30.

Judge Dismisses Some Claims in 'Children of Pornhub' Trafficking Suit

A United States district judge on Friday dismissed some but not all claims against Aylo in a long-running case involving CSAM allegations featured in the influential 2020 New York Times article “The Children of Pornhub.”

Arcom to Expand AV Enforcement to Smaller Adult Sites

The president of French media regulator Arcom revealed on Thursday that the agency plans to escalate its enforcement of age verification rules to include smaller adult sites, starting in late 2025 or early 2026.

Pornhub to Shut Down Access in Arizona Over Age Verification

Aylo will geoblock Pornhub across Arizona starting Sept. 26, when the state’s age verification law, HB 2112, goes into effect.

French Telecoms Mogul Ignites AV Firestorm With Free VPN, Sarcastic Tweet

French billionaire Xavier Niel, founder of telecommunications giant Iliad, sparked a heated debate this week when he appeared to admit that the company's Free Mobile wireless carrier integrated no-cost VPN into its service specifically to circumvent age verification restrictions on adult content.

UPDATED: Michigan Legislators Propose Online Porn Ban

Michigan lawmakers have introduced a bill that would make it illegal to distribute pornography via the internet in the state.

EU Advocate General: France Can Require Foreign Sites to Implement AV

An advocate general of the European Union’s Court of Justice on Thursday advised the court to rule that France may require pornographic websites based in other EU states to implement age verification in accordance with French law.

Florida AG Sues Aylo, Segpay Over State AV Law

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier filed lawsuits against Aylo and Segpay on Monday with the 12th Judicial Circuit Court of Florida for noncompliance with HB3, the state's age verification law.

Show More