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[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 97 Introduced in House (IH)]

  1st Session
                                 H. R. 97

 To provide protection from personal intrusion for commercial purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 6, 1999

  Mr. Conyers (for himself and Mr. McCollum) introduced the following 
       bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 
 To provide protection from personal intrusion for commercial purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Personal Privacy Protection Act''.

SEC. 2. CRIMINAL OFFENSE.

    (a) In General.--Chapter 89 of title 18, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
``Sec. 1822. Reckless endangerment; tortious invasion of privacy
    ``(a) Reckless Endangerment.--Whoever, in or affecting interstate 
or foreign commerce and for commercial purposes, persistently follows 
or chases a person, in a manner that causes that person to have a 
reasonable fear of bodily injury, in order to capture by a visual or 
auditory recording instrument any type of visual image, sound 
recording, or other physical impression of that person shall--
            ``(1) if death or serious bodily injury results, be fined 
        under this title or imprisoned not more than 30 years, or both; 
        and
            ``(2) be liable in a civil action for any appropriate 
        relief.
    ``(b) Tortious Invasion of Privacy.--Whoever, in or affecting 
interstate or foreign commerce and for commercial purposes, engages in 
a tortious invasion of the privacy of another person in order to 
capture by a visual or auditory recording instrument any type of visual 
image, sound recording, or other physical impression of that person 
shall in a civil action be liable to any party injured for any 
appropriate relief.
    ``(c) Definitions.--For the purposes of this section--
            ``(1) the term `for commercial purposes' means with the 
        expectation of sale, financial gain, or other consideration;
            ``(2) the term `tortious invasion of privacy' means--
                    ``(A) a capture of any type of visual image, sound 
                recording, or other physical impression of a personal 
                or familial activity through the use of a visual or 
                auditory enhancement device, if--
                            ``(i) the subject has a reasonable 
                        expectation of privacy with respect to that 
                        activity; and
                            ``(ii) the image, recording, or impression 
                        could not have been captured without a trespass 
                        if not produced by the use of the enhancement 
                        device; or
                    ``(B) a trespass on private property in order to 
                capture any type of visual image, sound recording, or 
                other physical impression of any person; and
            ``(3) the term `any appropriate relief' may include 
        compensatory damages, punitive damages, and injunctive and 
        declaratory relief.
    ``(d) Limitation on Defenses.--It is not a defense to a prosecution 
or civil action under subsection (a) that--
            ``(1) no image or recording was captured; or
            ``(2) no image or recording was sold.
    ``(e) Use of Images.--Nothing in this section makes the sale, 
transmission, publication, broadcast, or use of any image or recording 
of the type or under the circumstances described in this section in any 
otherwise lawful manner by any person subject to criminal charge or 
civil liability.
    ``(f) Limitation.--Only a person physically present at the time of, 
and engaging, or assisting another in engaging, in a violation of this 
section is subject to criminal charge or civil liability under this 
section. A person shall not be subject to such charge or liability by 
reason of the conduct of an agent, employee, or contractor of that 
person or because images or recordings captured in violation of this 
section were solicited, bought, used, or sold by that person.
    ``(g) Law Enforcement Exemption.--The prohibitions of this section 
do not apply with respect to official law enforcement activities.
    ``(h) Nonpreemption.--Nothing in this section shall be taken to 
preempt any right or remedy otherwise available under Federal, State, 
or local law.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections at the beginning of 
chapter 89 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding at the 
end the following new item:

``1822. Reckless endangerment; tortious invasion of privacy.''.
                                 <all>
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