Intimate Covert Filming Bill

1
Intimate Covert Filming Bill

• (Or where Peeping Tom meets the Internet)

2
Intimate Covert Filming Bill

• What is intimate covert filming?
• Why a legislative response?
• How does the legislation respond?
• What is not covered in the Bill
• Other options

3
What is intimate covert filming?

• Making a surreptitious visual recording of
  another person in an intimate situation without
  their knowledge or consent in circumstances the
  other person could reasonably expect to be
  private
• A person is in an intimate situation if they are
• Naked or private areas partially exposed
• Engaged in intimate sexual activity
• Engaged in showering or toileting
• Peeping Tom activity

4
Why legislation?

• Implications for personal privacy of the
  combination of new technologies and intimate
  covert filming
• New forms of prurient behaviour
• Intersection with sexual offences
• Not adequately dealt with by existing laws
• Overseas legislative responses

5
Activity covered by the Bill

• Prohibition on making an intimate visual
  recording
• Offence to publish, import, export, sell intimate
  visual recording
• Offence to possess intimate visual recording in
  certain circumstances

6
Activity not covered by Bill

• Statutory exceptions to offences
• Covert observation, but not recording
• Intimate covert filming where no reasonable
  expectation of privacy
• Covert filming in non-intimate circumstances
  (even for prurient purpose)
• Publication of images of people in intimate
  circumstances if recording done with their
  knowledge or consent

7
Intimate covert filming other options

• Bill concerned only with criminal offending
• Civil proceedings
• Privacy Act complaint procedures