Florida

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Commercial Email and Spam:

In 2004, the State of Florida enacted the Electronic Mail Communications Act (Florida Laws chapter 2004-233, S.B. 2574), codified at Florida Statutes Title XXXIX, Chapter 668, Part III (§§ 668.60 - 668.610). This law generally prohibits sending spam emails that falsify the email routing information, or contain false or misleading information.

Telemarketing & Telephonic Anti-Solicitation:

Florida's original telephone anti-solicitation law was enacted in 1987. This law has been amended a number of times since 1987, and is codified at Florida Statutes Title XXXIII, Chapter 501, Part I (§ 501.059). Since 1991, this law has been supplemented by the Florida Telemarketing Act, codified at Florida Statutes Title XXXIII, Chapter 501, Part IV (§§ 501.601 - 501.626).

Florida law also criminalizes certain obscene or harrassing telephone calls. See Florida Statutes Title XXVII, Chapter 365 (§§ 365.16 & 365.161).

Faxes, Texts, and Other Media Anti-Solicitation:

In 1989, Florida enacted a law prohibiting the use of fax machines to send unsolicited advertisements (Florida Laws chapter 89-95), which is codified at Florida Statutes Title XXVII, Chapter 365 (§ 365.1657). The law authorizes enforcement by Florida's Attorney General, and provides for penalties of up to $500 for each unsolicited advertisement sent, via fax, in violation of the law.

The law does not provide for a private right of action. However, a Florida appellate court has held that a private cause of action can be pursued in Florida state courts under the U.S. Telephone Consumer Protection Act. See Spam-Related Case-Law: Florida Case-Law.

Unlawful Trade Practices:

Commission of the acts prohibited in § 668.603 of Florida's Electronic Mail Communications Act are defined by that Act as unlawful trade practices. See Florida Statutes Title XXXIX, Chapter 668, Part III (§ 668.6075).

Florida's general prohibition of unlawful trade practices is set forth in Florida Statutes Title XXXIII, Chapter 501, Part II (§ 501.204). Remedies include significant civil penalties, and a private right of action, in addition to enforcement by the Florida Attorney General's Office. See Florida Statutes Title XXXIII, Chapter 501, Part II (§§ 501.201 - 501.213).

Pornography:

Florida's Computer Pornography and Child Exploitation Prevention Act, together with related provisions, criminalizes activities that involve sexualized electronic communications with minors, and the transmission or storage of child pornography. See Florida Statutes Title XLVI, Chapter 847 (§§ 847.0135 - 847.0139, 847.0147).

Florida law also criminalizes "sexting" (electronic transmission of nude images by minors). See Florida Statutes Title XLVI, Chapter 847 (§ 847.0141).

Computer-related Crime:

Florida's Cybercrimes Against Children Act of 2007 updated Florida's registered sex offender framework to require registration of email addresses by convicted sex offenders. See Florida Statutes Title XLVII, Chapter 943 (§ 943.0435). The law also enables Florida's Department of Law Enforcement to provide information (including email addresses) to social networking sites about registered sex offenders. See Florida Statutes Title XLII, Chapter 943 (§ 943.0437).

Additional Resources:

State of Florida, Office of the Attorney General - Information on Florida's Anti-Spam Law