Upskirting is the act of secretly or surreptitiously photographing underneath a woman’s dress or skirt. Because upskirting often occurs in public places, laws prohibiting the practice have been challenged on the ground that the victim does not have a reasonable expectation of privacy.

Laws regarding upskirting behavior—including photographing or videotaping a person in a bathroom or changing room—vary from state to state. In some states this conduct is prosecuted as a criminal offense under invasion of privacy, voyeurism, unlawful surveillance, surreptitious recording, disorderly conduct, or public lewdness statutes—depending on the state and its current laws.

Upskirting and the related criminal offenses for which upskirting may be prosecuted are located in a state’s statutes—often in the penal or criminal code.

In Louisiana (LA), upskirting is considered a criminal offense under the state's voyeurism laws. Louisiana Revised Statutes Title 14:283.1 specifically addresses video voyeurism, which includes the act of upskirting. The law makes it illegal to use any camera or other device to observe, photograph, videotape, film, or record, without the consent of the person, the intimate areas of another person when that person has not consented to the observation and when the intimate areas are reasonably expected to be shielded from public view. The law covers situations where the person is in a place where they have a reasonable expectation of privacy, such as dressing rooms, bathrooms, or any other place where a person has a reasonable expectation of privacy. Violation of these laws can result in criminal charges ranging from misdemeanors to felonies, depending on the circumstances and the presence of aggravating factors, such as prior offenses or distribution of the images.