WOTY -- "upskirting"

[Christopher Philippo]

“Authorities in other areas of the nation have reported a trend in voyeurs doing similar things - sometimes for the purpose of posting the images on Internet sites often known as ‘upskirt' sites."
Benon, Clea. "Man Detained at Filene's Charged Under New Pa. Peeping-tom Law." Philadelphia Inquirer. July 9, 1998. http://articles.philly.com/1998-07-09/news/25737876_1_security-guards-peeping-tom-law-boyle

Google Scholar shows a number of court cases that have used up-skirt/upskirt/upskirting, and at least one law journal article.  Google Books seems to have some uses going back to the early 1990s, but it’s hard to be sure.  I haven’t seen the actual pro-upskirting decision the Massachusetts court is reported to have made, just http://www.mass.gov/courts/sjc/amicus/sjc-11353.html  I’m hoping the news media have picked up a phony story.

Does the federal Video Voyeurism Prevention Act of 2004 not apply? “Whoever, in the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States, has the intent to capture an image of a private area of an individual without their consent, and knowingly does so under circumstances in which the individual has a reasonable expectation of privacy, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than one year, or both. […] the term ‘a private area of the individual’ means the naked or undergarment clad genitals, pubic area, buttocks, or female breast of that individual [...] the term ‘under circumstances in which that individual has a reasonable expectation of privacy’ means [...] circumstances in which a reasonable person would believe that a private area of the individual would not be visible to the public, regardless of whether that person is in a public or private place." https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/108/s1301

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