New law makes ‘upskirting’ a crime in New Jersey

On Thursday, Gov. Christie signed a law A-156 under which “upskirting” is now a crime. The passing of the law made photographing underneath a woman’s skirt or dress a fourth-degree offense.

According to the law, the act of “photographing, filming, publishing and sharing the image of clothed intimate parts of another person without consent” is illegal.

State Sen. Thomas Kean Jr. said, “A voyeur can snap a cell phone picture of an unsuspecting victim in seconds and share it online to the entire world. This new law will provide a strong deterrent to prevent this abhorrent activity”.

According to the Republican governor, ‘As parents in this highly digital age, we’re always concerned about protecting our children and our privacy, and a big part of doing that is for state criminal laws to keep up with new and emerging technologies”. He added that the law will target “perpetrators of a perverse and growing form of pornography that victimizes vulnerable women and children in a matter of seconds”.

The law will stop individuals to take photographs and record a video without the consent of the other person. Just like it is a crime to take photographs of intimate body parts, taking photographs of clothed intimate parts of another person without consent is also not allowed. It is a crime for which the offender has to serve 18 months in jail and need to pay a fine of up to $10,000. Publishing or sharing images of an individual without his/her consent is also a crime for which the offender faces a sentence of 3 to 5 years in prison and a fine of up to $15,000.

The law also allows victims of upskirting to take civil action against any individuals who capture the image or show it to others without taking permission.

Source: www.phillyvoice.com , www.philly.com