High-tech Peeping Toms now face tough penalties after President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo signed Republic Act No. 9995 or the Anti-Photo and Video Voyeurism Act of 2010.

High-tech Peeping Toms now face tough penalties after President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo signed Republic Act No. 9995 or the Anti-Photo and Video Voyeurism Act of 2010.

The law, which puts to jail sex voyeurs and distributors, seeks to protect the privacy and dignity of persons.

RA 9995, signed by the President last February 15 without fanfare, prohibits taking of photo or video of sexual activities as well as private parts of a person without the consent of the people concerned.

The law also bans copying and reproducing, selling and distributing, and publishing and broadcasting of said photo and video materials in print or broadcast media, the Internet, cellular phones, and other communication devices.

Offenders of the anti-photo and video voyeurism law faces imprisonment of not less than three but not more than seven years with a fine of not less than P100,000, but not more than P500,000 awaits the offender/s.

The law, a consolidation of House Bill 6517 and Senate Bill 2357, takes effect 15 days after publication in two national newspapers.

The passage of the law criminalizing photo and video voyeurism came several months after the sex scandal involving a cosmetic surgeon and some women broke out.