Florida Laws on Email
- In the digital age, almost everyone has email. State and federal laws must take email use into account; certain crimes didn't even exist before email, and state judges must often rule on email privacy issues. In Florida, there are laws prohibiting certain email communications as well as limits on privacy expectations.
- In Florida, spam is illegal if it is unsolicited and contains false information or viruses. Falsified email headers, which make it appear as if the spam came from a legitimate source, are also illegal. If a Florida resident receives spam, he can file a complaint with the state attorney general. Both the attorney general and individual Internet service providers (ISPs) may sue the spammer. Spammers may have to pay up to $500 for each illegal message as well as all attorney's fees related to legal actions resulting from spam.
- It is illegal in Florida to send email that could be construed as harmful to minors, such as sexually explicit emails. In 2006, the Florida Supreme Court ruled that instant messages can be considered email for this purpose. For example, if a person sends an instant message to a child suggesting she do something illegal, he can be prosecuted for sending harmful emails to a minor even though no email communication took place.
- In Florida, email addresses are considered public records. Thus, if a person sends email to a state agency, his email address may be listed on public directories, and anyone in the United States could access his email address via these lists. The only way to keep one's email address private is to abstain from emailing state agencies, instead doing business with them only by telephone or U.S. mail.
