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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
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An act relating to sexual cyberharassment; amending s. 2
784.049, F.S.; revising legislative findings; revising 3
definitions; revising requirements for an enhanced 4
penalty for a second or subsequent conviction; 5
prohibiting violations for pecuniary or any other 6
financial gain; providing criminal penalties; 7
providing for award of punitive damages in civil 8
actions; amending s. 775.15, F.S.; providing statute 9
of limitations for prosecution of a sexual 10
cyberharassment offense; amending s. 98.0751, F.S.; 11
revising the definition of "felony sexual offense" for 12
purposes of voting rights restoration to include new 13
offenses created in this act; providing an effective 14
date. 15
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Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 17
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Section 1. Section 784.049, Florida Statutes, is amended 19
to read: 20
784.049 Sexual cyberharassment. — 21
(1) The Legislature finds that: 22
(a) A person depicted in a sexually explicit image taken 23
with the person's consent may retain a reasonable expectation 24
that the image will remain private despite sharing the image 25
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with another person, such as an intimate partner . 26
(b) It is becoming a common practice for persons to 27
publish a sexually explicit image of another to Internet 28
websites or to disseminate such an image through electronic 29
means without the depicted person's consent, contrary to the 30
depicted person's reasonable expectation of privacy , for no 31
legitimate purpose, with the intent of causing substantial 32
emotional distress to the depicted person . 33
(c) When such images are published on Internet websites, 34
the images are able to be viewed indefinitely by persons 35
worldwide and are able to be easily reproduced and shared. 36
(d) The publication or dissemination of such images 37
through the use of Internet websites or electronic means creates 38
a permanent record of the depicted person's private nudity or 39
private sexually explicit conduct. 40
(e) The existence of such images on Internet websites or 41
the dissemination of such images without the consent of all 42
parties depicted in the images causes those depicted in such 43
images significant psychological harm. 44
(f) Safeguarding the psychological well -being and privacy 45
interests of persons depicted in such imag es is compelling. 46
(2) As used in this section, the term: 47
(a) "Image" includes, but is not limited to, any 48
photograph, picture, motion picture, film, video, or 49
representation. 50
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(b) "Personal identification information" means any 51
information that identi fies a person an individual, and 52
includes, but is not limited to, any name, postal or electronic 53
mail address, telephone number, social security number, date of 54
birth, or any unique physical representation. 55
(c) "Sexually cyberharass" means to intentionally publish 56
to an Internet website or intentionally disseminate through 57
electronic means to another person a sexually explicit image of 58
a person that contains or conveys the personal identification 59
information of the depicted person without the depicted person's 60
consent and, contrary to the depicted person's reasonable 61
expectation that the image would remain private if: 62
1. The image contains or conveys the personal 63
identification information of the depicted person; or 64
2. The personal identific ation information of the depicted 65
person is not contained or conveyed in the image itself, but is 66
contemporaneously published or disseminated in such a manner 67
that a person viewing the personal identification information 68
would reasonably know that such inf ormation directly relates to 69
the person depicted in the sexually explicit image , for no 70
legitimate purpose, with the intent of causing substantial 71
emotional distress to the depicted person . 72
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Evidence that the depicted person sent a sexually explicit image 74
to another person does not, on its own, remove his or her 75
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reasonable expectation of privacy for that image. 76
(d) "Sexually explicit image" means any image depicting 77
nudity, as defined in s. 847.001, or depicting a person engaging 78
in sexual conduct, as de fined in s. 847.001, or depicting the 79
display of semen or vaginal secretion on a person . 80
(3)(a) Except as provided in paragraph (b) or subsection 81
(4), a person who willfully and maliciously sexually 82
cyberharasses another person commits a misdemeanor of t he first 83
degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083. 84
(b) A person who has one prior conviction for sexual 85
cyberharassment and who commits a second or subsequent sexual 86
cyberharassment commits a felony of the third degree, punishable 87
as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084. 88
(4)(a) Except as provided in paragraph (b), a person who 89
violates this section for the purpose of pecuniary or any other 90
financial gain commits a felony of the third degree, punishable 91
as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084. 92
(b) A person who commits a second or subsequent violation 93
of this subsection commits a felony of the second degree, 94
punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084. 95
(5) For purposes of this section, th e term "conviction" 96
means a determination of guilt that is the result of a plea or a 97
trial, regardless of whether adjudication is withheld or a plea 98
of nolo contendere is entered. 99
(6)(4)(a) A law enforcement officer may arrest, without a 100
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warrant, any person that he or she has probable cause to believe 101
has violated this section. 102
(b) Upon proper affidavits being made, a search warrant 103
may be issued to further investigate violations of this section, 104
including warrants issued to search a private dwelling. 105
(7)(5) An aggrieved person may initiate a civil action 106
against a person who violates this section to obtain all 107
appropriate relief in order to prevent or remedy a violation of 108
this section, including the following: 109
(a) Injunctive relief. 110
(b) Monetary damages to include $10,000 or actual damages 111
incurred as a result of a violation of this section, whichever 112
is greater. 113
(c) Punitive damages. 114
(d)(c) Reasonable attorney fees and costs. 115
(8)(6) The criminal and civil penalties of this section do 116
not apply to: 117
(a) A provider of an interactive computer service as 118
defined in 47 U.S.C. s. 230(f), information service as defined 119
in 47 U.S.C. s. 153, or communications service as defined in s. 120
202.11, that provides the transmission, storage, or caching of 121
electronic communications or messages of others; other related 122
telecommunications or commercial mobile radio service; or 123
content provided by another person; or 124
(b) A law enforcement officer, as defined in s. 943.10, or 125
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any local, state, federal, or milita ry law enforcement agency, 126
that publishes or disseminates a sexually explicit image in 127
connection with the performance of his or her duties as a law 128
enforcement officer, or law enforcement agency. 129
(9)(7) A violation of this section is committed within 130
this state if any conduct that is an element of the offense, or 131
any harm to the depicted person resulting from the offense, 132
occurs within this state. 133
Section 2. Subsection (22) is added to section 775.15, 134
Florida Statutes, to read: 135
775.15 Time limitati ons; general time limitations; 136
exceptions.— 137
(22)(a) A prosecution for a misdemeanor violation of s. 138
784.049 must be commenced within 5 years after the commission of 139
the offense or within 3 years after the date the victim 140
discovers the offense, whichever is later. 141
(b) A prosecution for a felony violation of s. 784.049 142
must be commenced within 7 years after the commission of the 143
offense or within 3 years after the date the victim discovers 144
the offense, whichever is later. 145
Section 3. Paragraph (b) of s ubsection (2) of section 146
98.0751, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 147
98.0751 Restoration of voting rights; termination of 148
ineligibility subsequent to a felony conviction. — 149
(2) For purposes of this section, the term: 150
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(b) "Felony sexual offense" means any of the following: 151
1. Any felony offense that serves as a predicate to 152
registration as a sexual offender in accordance with s. 153
943.0435; 154
2. Section 491.0112; 155
3. Section 784.049(3)(b) or (4); 156
4. Section 794.08; 157
5. Section 796.08; 158
6. Section 800.101; 159
7. Section 826.04; 160
8. Section 847.012; 161
9. Section 872.06(2); 162
10. Section 944.35(3)(b)2.; 163
11. Section 951.221(1); or 164
12. Any similar offense committed in another jurisdiction 165
which would be an offense listed in this paragraph if it had 166
been committed in violation of the laws of this state. 167
Section 4. This act shall take effect October 1, 2025. 168