Invasion of privacy; civil action, damages, attorney fees and costs. (HB269)

Introduced By

Del. Mark Cole (R-Fredericksburg)

Progress

Introduced
Passed Committee
Passed House
Passed Senate
Signed by Governor
Became Law

Description

Invasion of privacy; civil action; damages; attorney fees and costs. Creates a civil cause of action for the physical and constructive invasion of privacy where a person enters onto the land or into the airspace above the land of another person to capture an image, as specified in the bill, of private property or an individual located on the private property without consent or uses any device, including an unmanned aircraft system, to capture such an image in lieu of physically entering the land or airspace. The bill allows a plaintiff to recover the greater of actual damages or $1,000, along with reasonable attorney fees and costs. The bill allows a court to award punitive damages when actual damages are awarded. Read the Bill »

Outcome

Bill Has Failed

History

DateAction
12/31/2015Committee
12/31/2015Prefiled and ordered printed; offered 01/13/16 16100629D
12/31/2015Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice
01/14/2016Assigned to sub: Subcommittee Criminal Law
01/14/2016Assigned App. sub: Subcommittee Criminal Law
01/14/2016Assigned Courts sub:
01/27/2016Subcommittee recommends laying on the table
02/16/2016Left in Courts of Justice

Comments

Waldo Jaquith writes:

This bill would prohibit somebody from releasing a GoPro camera mounted on a balloon to take high-altitude photos, as has becoming a common project for science classes etc. These balloons go about 20 miles up in the air, traveling 5–100 miles along the earth's surface, taking video all the while. If I understand the text of this bill properly, every one of the hundreds to thousands of property owners below would have a civil cause of action against that science teacher, because their privacy was ostensibly violated (from a distance of 20 miles).

Rebecca Smith writes:

This bill would not allow the governmental agencies/EPA/DEQ/local agencies to protect our county/country. Our country is subjected to terrorists plots. Without the capacity to monitor our lands, waters, and ongoing activities, we have no way to provide the security that is needed.

Careful review of this bill should be required.

ACLU-VA Privacy Rights, tracking this bill in Photosynthesis, notes:

The ACLU of VA is monitoring this bill.