President Bush has signed a video voyeurism bill into law three years after Lifetime Television depicted the problem of people who are secretly videotaped in private places in its original movie "Video Voyeur: The Susan Wilson Story" and pushed for legislation that would make video voyeurism a federal crime.
The new law, titled the Video Voyeurism Protection Act of 2004, makes it a federal crime to secretly capture images of people on federal property in situations in which they have the expectation of privacy. Lifetime called the bill an important first step in the effort to protect people from video voyeurism.
The bill was signed into law late Thursday, just before the Christmas Eve holiday, Lifetime said. Any person found guilty of video voyeurism on federal property under the new law could be fined and/or imprisoned for up to one year.
"I am delighted that our Lifetime movie proved to be such a useful tool to make this a reality," said Trevor Walton, senior vp Lifetime Original Movies. Added Blue Andre, the movie's executive producer, "As a team, we made a movie and a commitment to make something good come out of a horrible crime against Susan and her family."
To highlight the new law, Lifetime said it will re-air "Video Voyeur" at 9 p.m. Jan. 8 and also air a special public service announcement to update its viewers.
"Video Voyeur" initially aired on Lifetime in January 2002. The movie was based on the true story of Louisiana native Susan Wilson and her family, who were secretly videotaped by a trusted neighbor who planted a hidden surveillance camera in their bedroom and bathroom. At the time, there were no laws to protect Wilson or other victims of video voyeurism. Thirty states now have laws criminalizing video voyeurism, Lifetime said.
"I'm encouraged that those on a federal level are taking steps to discourage this heinous crime of video voyeurism, and I look forward to seeing more legislation that will protect citizens in their homes and every public place where there is an expectation of privacy," Wilson said.
Following the premiere of "Video Voyeur," which was the highest-rated basic cable original movie of 2002, Lifetime joined Wilson, Andre, the movie's star, Angie Harmon, and Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., on Capitol Hill to push for legislation that would make video voyeurism a serious crime.
"When we began working on our movie, only a handful of states had laws making video voyeurism a serious crime," said Meredith Wagner, Lifetime executive vp public affairs. "Now, this act will prohibit filming or taking compromising pictures on all federal property across the nation. It is an important step to protect all potential victims and punish offenders of video voyeurism."
Lifetime said it will be discussing with Landrieu and others the possibility of pushing for federal legislation that provides broader protection.
The network said that the new video voyeur law marks the second legislative victory for its Emmy Award-winning campaign "Our Lifetime Commitment: Stop Violence Against Women." In October, the network celebrated the passage and enactment of The Justice for All Act of 2004, which provided funding to eliminate a backlog of untested DNA evidence and help put thousands of rapists behind bars.