Penalties for Digital Voyeurism Increase in Florida

Photo for illustrative purposes only. Photo by Leon Seibert on Unsplash

Observing people, especially when they are nude and unaware that they are being watched, is something that many would consider creepy, including the law. So, House Bill 1389, effective October 1, 2024, expands the definition of digital voyeurism and changes the penalties for committing this crime. 

As a law, House Bill 1389 amends Florida’s statute 810.145 to reclassify “video voyeurism” as “digital voyeurism”. It also adds that “exploitation” must be involved.

The law defines digital voyeurism as the act in which a person deliberately utilizes “an imaging device to secretly view, broadcast, or record a person, without that person’s knowledge and consent, who is dressing, undressing, or privately exposing the body, at a place and time when that person has a reasonable expectation of privacy”.

A person can also commit “the crime of digital voyeurism dissemination or commercial digital voyeurism dissemination” if a recording obtained through digital voyeurism is disseminated, distributed, or transferred “to another person for specified purposes”. 

For anyone under the age of 19, committing digital voyeurism is now a first degree misdemeanor. For anyone the age of 19 or older, it will be a third degree felony. Digital voyeurism dissemination and commercial digital voyeurism dissemination will result in a third degree felony charge for a person of any age.

Anyone who is 19 years old or older and violates statute 810.145 in any way related “to digital voyeurism and is a family or household member of the victim, or holds a position of authority or trust with the victim”, will face greater penalties. A third degree felony will become a second degree felony and a second degree felony will become a first degree felony.

Each instance of digital voyeurism in violation of this law will result in a separate charge. The charges that can be assigned under this law have also been ranked on the offense severity ranking chart, which classifies crimes on a scale from one to 10, with a level 10 offense being the most severe.

For an offender who is 19 years old or older, digital voyeurism is a level three crime. As a second or subsequent offense, it is a level five crime. Against certain minor victims it is a level five crime. As a second or subsequent offense against certain minor victims, it is a level six crime.

Digital voyeurism dissemination is a level four crime. Commercial digital voyeurism dissemination is a level five crime

House Bill 1389 was originally prepared by the Criminal Justice Committee, filed on January 6, 2024; and voted through unanimously in the Senate and House with votes of 35-0 and 116-0, respectively. It was presented to Governor DeSantis on April 16, 2024, and he approved it on April 26, 2024.

For complete details on this new law, click here to read all 59 pages of House Bill 1389. For the official summary, click here.
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Article by Ema Tibbetts