Video voyeurism laws and penalties cover the secret recording or viewing of another person in a place where they expected privacy, and the consequences run from misdemeanor jail time and fines up to $100,000, to multi-year federal prison sentences, mandatory sex offender registration, and civil damages of $150,000 or more. A 2025 federal law also forces online platforms to pull non-consensual intimate images within 48 hours of a valid request.
What Counts as Video Voyeurism
Video voyeurism means intentionally recording or viewing another person, without their consent, in a setting where they reasonably expected to be unobserved. Bathrooms, locker rooms, changing areas, and bedrooms are the clearest examples, but the rule extends to any place a person would logically assume no camera was watching.
Two elements have to be present. The first is intent: prosecutors look for evidence of a sexual motive or other improper purpose, not merely that a camera was running. Someone caught in the background of an ordinary video, with no voyeuristic motive behind the recording, generally falls outside these laws. Placement often does the proving on its own, because a camera concealed inside a bathroom vent or slid under a door is hard to explain any other way.
The second element is the victim’s lack of consent. Even in a semi-public space like a gym locker room, undressing is not consent to being filmed. The question is whether the person recording knowingly set out to capture images of someone’s intimate areas without permission.
Federal Criminal Penalties
Two federal statutes do most of the work.
The Video Voyeurism Prevention Act
Codified at 18 U.S.C. § 1801, this law makes it a federal crime to intentionally capture an image of someone’s private areas, without consent, in a place where that person had a reasonable expectation of privacy. It applies within the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States, meaning military installations, federal buildings, national parks, and similar federal property.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 1801 – Video Voyeurism
The statute defines “private area” as the naked or undergarment-clad genitals, pubic area, buttocks, or female breast. “Capture” is defined broadly to include videotaping, photographing, filming, recording by any means, or electronically transmitting a visual image intended to be viewed by others.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 1801 – Video Voyeurism
A conviction carries up to one year in federal prison, a fine, or both.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 1801 – Video Voyeurism Because the statute says “fined under this title” without naming a dollar figure, the general federal sentencing provision applies: the maximum fine for an individual convicted of a misdemeanor that does not result in death is $100,000.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 US Code 3571 – Sentence of Fine
The TAKE IT DOWN Act
Signed on May 19, 2025, the TAKE IT DOWN Act criminalizes the online publication of non-consensual intimate images, including AI-generated deepfakes. For adult victims, publication is illegal when it is intended to cause, or does cause, harm. For minors, the standard is stricter: publication is illegal when intended to harass the minor or to gratify anyone’s sexual desire.3Congress.gov. S.146 – TAKE IT DOWN Act
Penalties are heavier than under the older voyeurism statute:
- Publication involving an adult victim: up to 2 years in prison, a fine, or both.
- Publication involving a minor: up to 3 years in prison, a fine, or both.
- Threats to publish such images of an adult, for intimidation, coercion, or extortion: up to 18 months.
- The same threatening conduct involving a minor: up to 30 months.
The law also requires mandatory restitution to the victim.4Congress.gov. S.146 – TAKE IT DOWN Act – Text
State Criminal Penalties
Every state has some form of law against non-consensual recording in private settings, though the labels, classifications, and ranges vary. Most states treat a first offense against an adult as a misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in jail. Fines for a first misdemeanor conviction range from a few hundred dollars to around $25,000, depending on the state.
Charges typically escalate to a felony when:
- The victim is a minor. Nearly every state treats voyeuristic recording of a child more seriously, often alongside sexual exploitation of minors.
- The offender has prior convictions. A second or third offense frequently triggers automatic felony classification.
- The recording was distributed. Sharing the material, rather than only creating it, commonly moves the charge into felony territory.
Felony convictions can carry prison sentences of two to five years or more, with substantially higher fines. Distribution is often charged separately from the original recording, and prosecutors may stack counts for each act of sharing, each recipient, or each platform where the material appeared. A single recording posted to multiple websites can produce multiple felony counts.
Because state laws differ significantly, anyone facing charges or weighing whether to report should check the specific statute in their jurisdiction.
Sex Offender Registration
One of the heaviest long-term consequences of a voyeurism conviction is sex offender registration. Under the federal Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA), video voyeurism involving a minor victim is specifically listed as a designated offense.5Office of Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering, and Tracking. SORNA – Current Law Many states independently require registration for voyeurism convictions involving adult victims as well.
Registration durations run from 10 years to life, depending on the state and the severity of the offense. Being on a registry restricts where you can live, where you can work, and in some cases where you can be present. For many people convicted of voyeurism offenses, registration ends up being a far heavier burden than the prison sentence itself.
Civil Damages a Victim Can Recover
Criminal charges punish the offender. Civil claims are how victims recover money, and they can proceed even if no prosecution is ever brought.
The Federal $150,000 Remedy
Enacted as part of the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2022, 15 U.S.C. § 6851 lets victims of non-consensual intimate image distribution sue directly in federal court. If someone disclosed your intimate images without consent using any means of interstate commerce, which includes the internet, you can bring the action in a U.S. district court.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 6851 – Civil Action Relating to Disclosure of Intimate Images
You have to show that the person who shared the images knew, or recklessly disregarded, that you had not consented to the disclosure. The statute is explicit that consent to the creation of an image is not consent to its distribution: allowing someone to photograph you does not give them permission to share those photographs.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 6851 – Civil Action Relating to Disclosure of Intimate Images
A successful plaintiff can recover actual damages or $150,000 in liquidated damages, whichever is greater, plus attorney’s fees and litigation costs. Courts can also order the defendant to stop displaying or sharing the images. Victims who file under a pseudonym to protect their identity can maintain that confidentiality while still seeking injunctive relief.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 6851 – Civil Action Relating to Disclosure of Intimate Images
The statute has exceptions. It does not reach disclosures of commercially produced pornographic content (unless produced by force or fraud), good-faith disclosures to law enforcement, disclosures made as part of a legal proceeding, disclosures for medical purposes, or disclosures connected to a matter of public concern.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 6851 – Civil Action Relating to Disclosure of Intimate Images
State Privacy Tort Claims
Victims can also pursue traditional state tort claims. Two show up most often.
Intrusion upon seclusion applies when someone intentionally intrudes on your private space, whether physically or by electronic surveillance. A hidden camera in a bathroom or bedroom is the textbook example. The victim does not need to prove the recording was ever distributed; the intrusion itself is the harm.
Intentional infliction of emotional distress requires outrageous conduct that caused severe emotional harm. Courts have consistently found that secretly recording someone in intimate situations clears that bar.
Civil awards in these cases can include compensatory damages for therapy, lost wages, and relocation expenses, along with punitive damages. Figures vary enormously with the facts, but cases involving prolonged surveillance, distribution, or particularly vulnerable victims tend to produce the largest judgments, and punitive damages can reach into the hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Getting the Content Removed Online
The TAKE IT DOWN Act gives victims a tool that did not exist before 2025. Any website, online service, or app that hosts user-generated content must have a process for requesting removal of non-consensual intimate images. Once a valid request comes in, the platform has 48 hours to remove the image and must make reasonable efforts to find and remove identical copies.4Congress.gov. S.146 – TAKE IT DOWN Act – Text Before this requirement, victims often spent months trying to get content taken down from platforms that had no legal obligation to act.
Submit the takedown request directly to the platform. Do it even while you are deciding whether to pursue criminal or civil action; the two tracks don’t interfere with each other.
How to Report Video Voyeurism
If the offense happened on federal property, such as a military base, national park, or federal building, report it to the FBI through its electronic tip form at tips.fbi.gov.7Federal Bureau of Investigation. Electronic Tip Form For emergencies, call 911 instead. When the activity is online, include as much detail as you can: the website URL, the platform or app name, the username of the person responsible, and the date and time of the post.
For offenses on non-federal property, start with your local police department. Many agencies now have specialized units for internet crimes or sexual offenses. Submitting a platform takedown request at the same time gives you the best chance of stopping further distribution while a criminal case is being built.
If you are considering a civil lawsuit, pay attention to filing deadlines. Statutes of limitations for privacy torts vary by state, often running one to three years from the date you discovered the recording or its distribution. The federal civil remedy under 15 U.S.C. § 6851 has its own timeline. Waiting too long can forfeit your right to sue, so talking to an attorney early is worth the cost even if you have not decided whether to file.