Legal Definitions - Florida

Definition: Florida has several laws in place to regulate electronic communications and prevent spam, telemarketing, and other forms of solicitation. These laws also criminalize certain obscene or harassing telephone calls and activities involving sexualized electronic communications with minors.

In 2004, Florida enacted the Electronic Mail Communications Act, which generally prohibits sending spam emails that falsify the email routing information or contain false or misleading information.

Florida's telephone anti-solicitation law prohibits telemarketing calls to individuals who have registered with the state's Do Not Call list. The Florida Telemarketing Act regulates telemarketing activities and requires telemarketers to disclose certain information to consumers.

Florida law prohibits the use of fax machines to send unsolicited advertisements and authorizes enforcement by the state's Attorney General. The law does not provide for a private right of action, but a private cause of action can be pursued in Florida state courts under the U.S. Telephone Consumer Protection Act.

Florida's Computer Pornography and Child Exploitation Prevention Act criminalizes activities that involve sexualized electronic communications with minors and the transmission or storage of child pornography. The law also criminalizes "sexting" (electronic transmission of nude images by minors).

Florida's Cybercrimes Against Children Act requires convicted sex offenders to register their email addresses and enables the state's Department of Law Enforcement to provide information (including email addresses) to social networking sites about registered sex offenders.

Overall, Florida's laws aim to protect individuals from unwanted electronic communications and prevent criminal activities involving electronic communications.