article: SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the ``Personal Privacy Protection Act''. SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. (a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings: (1) Individuals and their families have been harassed and endangered by being persistently followed or chased in a manner that puts them in reasonable fear of bodily injury, and in danger of serious bodily injury or even death, by photographers, videographers, and audio recorders attempting to capture images or other reproductions of their private lives for commercial purposes. (2) The legitimate privacy interests of individuals and their families have been violated by photographers, videographers, and audio recorders who physically trespass in order to capture images or other reproductions of their private lives for commercial purposes, or who do so constructively through intrusive modern visual or auditory enhancement devices, such as powerful telephoto lenses and hyperbolic microphones that enable invasion of private areas that would otherwise be impossible without trespassing. (3) Such harassment and trespass threatens not only professional public persons and their families, but also private persons and their families for whom personal tragedies or circumstances beyond their control create media interest. (4) Federal legislation is necessary to protect individuals and their families from persistent following or chasing for commercial purposes that causes reasonable fear of bodily injury, because such harassment is not directly regulated by applicable Federal, State, and local statutory or common laws, because those laws provide an uneven patchwork of coverage, and because those laws may not cover such activities when undertaken for commercial purposes. (5) Federal legislation is necessary to prohibit and provide proper redress in Federal courts for trespass and constructive trespass using intrusive visual or auditory enhancement devices for commercial purposes, because technological advances such as telephoto lenses and hyperbolic microphones render inadequate existing common law and State and local regulation of such trespass and invasion of privacy. (6) There is no right, under the first amendment to the Constitution of the United States, to persistently follow or chase another in a manner that creates a reasonable fear of bodily injury, to trespass, or to constructively trespass through the use of intrusive visual or auditory enhancement devices. (7) This Act, and the amendments made by this Act, do not in any way regulate, prohibit, or create liability for publication or broadcast of any image or information, but rather use narrowly tailored means to prohibit and create liability for specific dangerous and intrusive activities that the Federal Government has an important interest in preventing, and ensure a safe and secure private realm for individuals against intrusion, which the Federal Government has an important interest in ensuring. (8) This Act protects against unwarranted harassment, endangerment, invasion of privacy, and trespass in an appropriately narrowly tailored manner without abridging the exercise of any rights guaranteed under the first amendment to the Constitution of the United States, or any other provision of law. (9) Congress has the affirmative power under section 8 of article I of the Constitution of the United States to enact this Act. (10) Because this Act regulates only conduct undertaken in order to create products intended to be and routinely transmitted, bought, or sold in interstate or foreign commerce, or persons who travel in interstate or foreign commerce in order to engage in regulated conduct, the Act is limited properly to regulation of interstate or foreign commerce. (11) Photographs and other reproductions of the private activities of persons obtained through activities regulated by this Act, and the amendments made by this Act, are routinely reproduced and broadcast in interstate and international commerce. (12) Photographers, videographers, and audio recorders routinely travel in interstate commerce in order to engage in the activities regulated by this Act, and the amendments made by this Act, with the intent, expectation, and routine result of gaining material that is bought and sold in interstate commerce. (13) The activities regulated by this Act, and the amendments made by this Act, occur routinely in the channels of interstate commerce, such as the persistent following or chasing of subjects in an inappropriate manner on public streets and thoroughfares or in airports, and the use of public streets and thoroughfares, interstate and international airports, and travel in interstate and international waters in order to physically or constructively trespass for commercial purposes. (14) The activities regulated by this Act, and the amendments made by this Act, substantially affect interstate commerce by threatening the careers, livelihoods, and rights to publicity of professional public persons in the national and international media, and by thrusting private persons into the national and international media. (15) The activities regulated by this Act, and the amendments made by this Act, substantially affect interstate commerce by restricting the movement of persons who are targeted by such activities and their families, often forcing them to curtail travel or appearances in public spaces, or, conversely, forcing them to travel in interstate commerce in order to escape from abuses regulated by this Act, and the amendments made by this Act. (b) Purposes.--The purposes of this Act are-- (1) to protect individuals and their families against reasonable fear of bodily injury, endangerment, trespass, and intrusions on their privacy due to activities undertaken in connection with interstate and international commerce in reproduction and broadcast of their private activities; (2) to protect interstate commerce affected by such activities, including the interstate commerce of individuals who are the subject of such activities; and (3) to establish the right of private parties injured by such activities, as well as the Attorney General of the United States and State attorneys general in appropriate cases, to bring actions for appropriate relief. SEC. 3. CRIMINAL OFFENSE. (a) In General.--Chapter 89 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: ``Sec. 1822. Harassment for commercial purposes ``(a) Definitions.--In this section: ``(1) For commercial purposes.-- ``(A) In general.--The term `for commercial purposes' means with the expectation of sale, financial gain, or other consideration. ``(B) Rule of construction.--For purposes of this section, a visual image, sound recording, or other physical impression shall not be found to have been, or intended to have been, captured for commercial purposes unless it was intended to be, or was in fact, sold, published, or transmitted in interstate or foreign commerce, or unless the person attempting to capture such image, recording, or impression moved in interstate or foreign commerce in order to capture such image, recording, or impression. ``(2) Harasses.--The term `harasses' means persistently physically follows or chases a person in a manner that causes the 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 the person for commercial purposes. ``(b) Prohibition and Penalties.--Whoever harasses any person within the United States or the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States-- ``(1) if death is proximately caused by such harassment, shall be imprisoned not less than 20 years and fined under this title; ``(2) if serious bodily injury is proximately caused by such harassment, shall be imprisoned not less than 5 years and fined under this title; and ``(3) if neither death nor serious bodily injury is proximately caused by such harassment, shall be imprisoned not more than 1 year, fined under this title, or both. ``(c) Cause of Action.--Any person who is legally present in the United States and who is subjected to a violation of this section may, in a civil action against the person engaging in the violation, obtain any appropriate relief, including compensatory damages, punitive damages, and injunctive and declaratory relief. In any civil action or proceeding to enforce a provision of this section, the court shall allow the prevailing party reasonable attorney's fees as part of the costs. In awarding attorney's fees, the court shall include expert fees as part of the attorney's fees. ``(d) Limitation on Defenses.--It is not a defense to a prosecution or civil action under this section that-- ``(1) no image or recording was captured; or ``(2) no image or recording was sold. ``(e) Use of Images.--Nothing in this section may be construed to make 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) Savings.--Nothing in this section shall be taken to preempt any right or remedy otherwise available under Federal, State or local law.''. (b) Technical Amendment.--The analysis for chapter 89 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: ``1822. Harassment for commercial purposes.''. SEC. 4. PERSONAL INTRUSION FOR COMMERCIAL PURPOSES. (a) Definition of For Commercial Purposes.-- (1) In general.--In this section, the term `for commercial purposes' means with the expectation of sale, financial gain, or other consideration. (2) Rule of construction.--For purposes of this section, a visual image, sound recording, or other physical impression shall not be found to have been, or intended to have been, captured for commercial purposes unless it was intended to be, or was in fact, sold, published, or transmitted in interstate or foreign commerce, or unless the person attempting to capture such image, recording, or impression moved in interstate or foreign commerce in order to capture such image, recording, or impression. (b) Trespass for Commercial Purposes and Invasion of Legitimate Interest in Privacy for Commercial Purposes.-- (1) Trespass for commercial purposes.--It shall be unlawful to trespass on private property in order to capture any type of visual image, sound recording, or other physical impression of any person for commercial purposes. (2) Invasion of legitimate interest in privacy for commercial purposes.--It shall be unlawful to capture any type of visual image, sound recording, or other physical impression for commercial purposes of a personal or familial activity through the use of a visual or auditory enhancement device, even if no physical trespass has occurred, if-- (A) the subject of the image, sound recording, or other physical impression has a reasonable expectation of privacy with respect to the personal or familial activity captured; and (B) the image, sound recording, or other physical impression could not have been captured without a trespass if not produced by the use of the enhancement device. (c) Cause of Action.--Any person who is legally present in the United States who is subjected to a violation of this section may, in a civil action against the person engaging in the violation, obtain any appropriate relief, including compensatory damages, punitive damages and injunctive and declaratory relief. A person obtaining relief may be either or both the owner of the property or the person whose visual or auditory impression has been captured. In any civil action or proceeding to enforce a provision of this section, the court shall allow the prevailing party reasonable attorney's fees as part of the costs. In awarding attorney's fees, the court shall include expert fees as part of the attorney's fees. (d) Limitation on Defenses.--It is not a defense to an action under this section that-- (1) no image or recording was captured; or (2) no image or recording was sold. (e) Use of Images.--Nothing in this section may be construed to make the sale, transmission, publication, broadcast, or use of any image or recording of the type or under the circumstances described herein 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 civil liability under this section. A person shall not be subject to such 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) Savings.--Nothing in this section shall be taken to preempt any right or remedy otherwise available under Federal, State, or local law. SEC. 5. SEVERABILITY. If any provision of this Act, an amendment made by this Act, or the application of such provision or amendment to any person or circumstance is held to be unconstitutional, the remainder of this Act, the amendments made by this Act, and the application of the provisions of such to any person or circumstance shall not be affected thereby.
summary: Personal Privacy Protection Act - Amends the Federal criminal code to prohibit and set penalties for harassing any person within the United States or the U.S. special maritime and territorial jurisdiction. Defines "harass" to mean persistently physically following or chasing a person in a manner that causes such 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 the person for commercial purposes. Prohibits: (1) trespassing on private property in order to capture any type of visual image, sound recording, or other physical impression of any person for commercial purposes; and (2) capturing any such image, recording, or impression of a personal or familial activity through the use of a visual or auditory enhancement device, even if no physical trespass has occurred, if the subject has a reasonable expectation of privacy with respect to the activity captured and if the image, recording, or impression could not have been captured without a trespass if not produced by the use of the enhancement device. Authorizes any person who is legally present in the United States and who is subjected to a violation of this Act to bring a civil action to obtain compensatory and punitive damages and injunctive and declaratory relief. Directs the court to allow the prevailing party reasonable attorney's fees, including expert fees. Specifies that: (1) it shall not be a defense to a prosecution or civil action that no image or recording was captured or sold; and (2) only a person physically present at the time of, and engaging or assisting another in engaging in, a violation is subject to criminal charge or civil liability under this Act. Makes this Act's prohibitions inapplicable to official law enforcement activities.