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German Ministers Press Law to Criminalize Digital Voyeurism After Sauna Case

A Leipzig incident exposed gaps in current privacy protections that allow covert recordings to go unpunished.

Overview

  • North Rhine-Westphalia, Lower Saxony and Saarland have filed a joint proposal that now moves to Bundesrat committees for discussion.
  • Federal Justice Minister Stefanie Hubig says concrete measures will be included in a forthcoming digital-violence bill, with a draft expected before the summer break.
  • The reported case involved two women filmed in a sauna whose complaint failed, and police returned the suspect’s phone with the images.
  • Officials cite Basic Law protections of sexual self-determination and warn that easy digital capture and instant sharing heighten the harm.
  • Options under consideration include amending §§201a and 184k of the criminal code to remove “protected space” and “against view” requirements, as current criminal and civil tools leave gaps.