Florida Sexual Cyberharassment Laws

In earlier times, and even in some parts of the world today, laws used to criminalize types of sexual behavior that large segments of our society consider unremarkable, such as sexual intimacy between an unmarried couple.  A series of court cases led to legislation based on the principle that almost all kinds of sexual behavior between consenting adults are legal.  This includes the production of sexually explicit videos.  It is not a crime for adults to knowingly allow themselves to be photographed nude or filmed in sexual situations.  The sale of pornographic material is legal; in fact, it is a booming industry, but the content is only legal if the people depicted in the images or videos knew that the content would be offered commercially.  The subject of “revenge porn” often arises in discussions about Internet privacy or in cautionary tales about how you should be careful what you post online, careful where you click, and careful what you do in the presence of other people’s smartphones.  Meanwhile, Florida law considers revenge porn and other nonconsensual sharing of sexual content a crime.  If you are facing accusations of sharing sexually explicit content against the wishes of the person depicted in the content, contact a Tampa sex crimes lawyer.

Sharing Intimate Images Online Is a Crime If It Is Not Consensual

If asked to interpret the term “sexual cyberharassment,” you might imagine that it encompasses most human interactions.  People interact online instead of in person, it’s almost always hostile, and almost everything is about sex, even when your interlocutor frames it as, “You’re the one talking about sex, not me.”

Fortunately, the legal definition of sexual cyberharassment is narrower than that.  It encompasses revenge porn, as well as other content sharing scenarios.  Revenge porn is when your partner shares intimate images of himself or herself with you during your relationship, but after you break up, you post the images of your ex online without your ex’s consent.  By law, all nonconsensual sharing of sexually explicit or intimate content counts as sexual cyberharassment.  It even covers deepfake videos, which appear to show your ex in sexual situations which, in reality, never happened.

Florida’s sexual cyberharassment laws have been on the books for a while, but lawmakers are also trying to enact a law against nonconsensual sexual content sharing at the federal level.  The bill has widespread support in principle; everyone agrees that sharing revenge porn and similar content is wrong.  The biggest obstacle to the bill is deciding how to word it.  In its current form, according to its critics, it could be used to criminalize content that was shared consensually.  For example, activists could use it to criminalize nude photos of professional models or non-explicit images of real-life same sex couples.

Contact Tampa Criminal Defense Attorney Bryant Scriven

A criminal defense lawyer can help you if you are facing criminal charges for the nonconsensual sharing of sexual images or videos.  Contact Scriven Law in Tampa, Florida to schedule a consultation.

Sources:

leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0700-0799/0784/Sections/0784.049.html

mprnews.org/story/2025/04/29/take-it-down-act-addressing-nonconsensual-deepfakes-and-revenge-porn-passes-what-is-it