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German Justice Minister Announces Plan to Criminalize Secret Sauna Filming

The proposal seeks to close a gap in protecting people from covert recordings in sauna and spa settings.

Overview

  • Stefanie Hubig outlined a new, narrowly tailored criminal offense aimed at deliberate digital voyeurism in public bathing environments.
  • Under current law, covert filming in public saunas is not explicitly punishable, which Hubig labels a protection gap.
  • Lower Saxony and North Rhine–Westphalia plan to present a Bundesrat initiative on Monday to back the effort.
  • German law already criminalizes secret recordings in homes, changing rooms or toilets, with penalties of up to two years in prison.
  • Victims can currently rely on the right to their own image to seek deletion of illicit recordings, but new sanctions for saunas require legislation.