Bill > H3042

This bill amends South Carolina law to address eavesdropping, peeping, and voyeurism by expanding the definition of these crimes to include the creation of realistic but false digital images or recordings using advanced technologies like generative adversarial networks (GANs). The bill increases penalties for these offenses, making them felonies with potential fines up to $1,000 and imprisonment up to five years for first offenses, and up to ten years for subsequent offenses. It specifically criminalizes the creation, manipulation, or distribution of digitally altered images or recordings of a person without their consent, even if the images are not real. The bill also requires law enforcement agencies to destroy any evidence collected during investigations once it is no longer needed and mandates that agencies make reasonable efforts to notify potential additional victims within 30 days if they discover that more individuals may have been affected by the same type of digital invasion of privacy. The legislation defines key terms such as "reasonable expectation of privacy" and provides exceptions for certain professional activities like security surveillance, law enforcement investigations, and news gathering. The bill will take effect upon the Governor's approval.