Increasing the criminal penalty for certain violations of breach of privacy when the victim is a child.

Session of 2025
SENATE BILL No. 205
By Committee on Judiciary
2-5
AN ACT concerning crimes, punishment and criminal procedure; relating
to crimes involving violations of personal rights; increasing the
criminal penalty for certain violations of breach of privacy when the
victim is a child; amending K.S.A. 2024 Supp. 21-6101 and repealing
the existing section.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Kansas:
Section 1. K.S.A. 2024 Supp. 21-6101 is hereby amended to read as
follows: 21-6101. (a) Breach of privacy is knowingly and without lawful
authority:
(1) Intercepting, without the consent of the sender or receiver, a
message by telephone, telegraph, letter or other means of private
communication;
(2) divulging, without the consent of the sender or receiver, the
existence or contents of such message if such person knows that the
message was illegally intercepted, or if such person illegally learned of the
message in the course of employment with an agency in transmitting such
message;
(3) entering with intent to listen surreptitiously to private
conversations in a private place or to observe the personal conduct of any
other person or persons entitled to privacy therein;
(4) installing or using outside or inside a private place any device for
hearing, recording, amplifying or broadcasting sounds originating in such
place, which sounds would not ordinarily be audible or comprehensible
without the use of such device, without the consent of the person or
persons entitled to privacy therein;
(5) installing or using any device or equipment for the interception of
any telephone, telegraph or other wire or wireless communication without
the consent of the person in possession or control of the facilities for such
communication;
(6) installing or using a camcorder, motion picture camera or
photographic camera of any type to videotape, film, photograph or record,
by electronic or other means, another identifiable person under or through
the clothing being worn by that other person or another identifiable person
who is nude or in a state of undress, for the purpose of viewing the body
of, or the undergarments worn by, that other person, without the consent or
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knowledge of that other person, with the intent to invade the privacy of
that other person, under circumstances in which that other person has a
reasonable expectation of privacy;
(7) disseminating or permitting the dissemination of any videotape,
photograph, film or image obtained in violation of subsection (a)(6); or
(8) disseminating any videotape, photograph, film or image of
another identifiable person 18 years of age or older who is nude or
engaged in sexual activity and under circumstances in which such
identifiable person had a reasonable expectation of privacy, with the intent
to harass, threaten or intimidate such identifiable person, and such
identifiable person did not consent to such dissemination.
(b) Breach of privacy as defined in:
(1) Subsection (a)(1) through (a)(5) is a class A nonperson
misdemeanor;
(2) subsection (a)(6) is:
(A) A severity level 8, person felony, except as provided in subsection
(b)(2)(B), (b)(2)(C) and (b)(2)(D);
(B) a severity level 5, person felony upon a second or subsequent
conviction within the previous five years, except as provided in subsection
(b)(2)(D);
(C) a severity level 5, person felony when the victim is under 18 years
of age, except as provided in subsection (b)(2)(D); and
(D) an off-grid person felony when the offender is 18 years of age or
older and the victim is under 14 years of age;
(3) subsection (a)(6) or (a)(8) is a:
(A) Severity level 8, person felony, except as provided in subsection
(b)(2)(B) (b)(3)(B); and
(B) severity level 5, person felony upon a second or subsequent
conviction within the previous five years; and
(3)(4) subsection (a)(7) is:
(A) A severity level 5, person felony, except as provided in subsection
(b)(4)(B) and (b)(4)(C);
(B) a severity level 4, person felony when the victim is under 18 years
of age, except as provided in subsection (b)(4)(C); and
(C) an off-grid person felony when the offender is 18 years of age or
older and the victim is under 14 years of age.
(c) Subsection (a)(1) shall not apply to messages overheard through a
regularly installed instrument on a telephone party line or on an extension.
(d) The provisions of this section shall not apply to:
(1) An operator of a switchboard, or any officer, employee or agent of
any public utility providing telephone communications service, whose
facilities are used in the transmission of a communication, to intercept,
disclose or use that communication in the normal course of employment
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while engaged in any activity which is incident to the rendition of public
utility service or to the protection of the rights of property of such public
utility;
(2) a provider of an interactive computer service, as defined in 47
U.S.C. § 230, for content provided by another person;
(3) a radio common carrier, as defined in K.S.A. 66-1,143, and
amendments thereto; and
(4) a local exchange carrier or telecommunications carrier as defined
in K.S.A. 66-1,187, and amendments thereto.
(e) The provisions of subsection (a)(8) shall not apply to a person
acting with a bona fide and lawful scientific, educational, governmental,
news or other similar public purpose.
(f) As used in this section, "private place" means a place where one
may reasonably expect to be safe from uninvited intrusion or surveillance.
Sec. 2. K.S.A. 2024 Supp. 21-6101 is hereby repealed.
Sec. 3. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its
publication in the statute book.
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