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Online child exploitation refers to crimes that involve the use of the internet to exploit or harm children. This can include the production, distribution, and possession of child sexual abuse material (CSAM), as well as online grooming or luring of minors for sexual purposes. It can also involve coercing or manipulating minors into participating in sexual acts or sharing explicit images.

Florida law defines child pornography as any image depicting a minor engaged in sexual conduct or any image that has been created, altered, adapted, or modified by electronic, mechanical, or other means, to portray an identifiable minor engaged in sexual conduct.

Outside of the legal system, many in law enforcement choose to refer to these images as Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) to most accurately reflect what is depicted – the sexual abuse and exploitation of children.

Sextortion is a form of blackmail where an individual threatens to release private, often sexually explicit, images or videos of another person unless the victim provides money, additional images, or other forms of compliance. This crime typically involves manipulation and threats and can have severe emotional and psychological impacts on the victim.

Revenge porn involves the unauthorized sharing or distribution of explicit images or videos of someone, often by a former partner, with the intent to harm, embarrass, or humiliate the person depicted. This crime is also known as non-consensual pornography and can lead to serious personal and professional consequences for the victim.

Florida defines sexting as the use of a device capable of electronic data transmission to send or possess nude or sexually explicit photos or videos of people. This includes images that depict nudity, such as genitals, pubic areas, or buttocks, even if they are covered by material that is not fully opaque.

Florida law prohibits sexting by minors, but most law enforcement agencies lean towards education minors of the dangers of sexting rather then enforcement.

If children find themselves a victim of online enticement or sextortion, they should never hesitate reporting to law enforcement in fear of getting into trouble for their actions. 

The sexual exploitation of children should be reported to the CyberTipline, including:

• Nudes or sexual images/videos of a child; 
• Someone chatting online with a child about sex;
• Sexual abuse of a child that occurs offline;
• Someone seeking or offering a child for sexual acts in exchange for something of value (e.g., money, food, gas, shelter, clothing, drugs);
• Unwanted sexual emails or texts either involving children or sent to a child;
• Websites or domains that contain sexual content but have similar names or URLs to mainstream sites that may be misleading to children;
• Websites or domains that have sexual content (words or images) embedded in them which minors might see;
• And other forms of sexual exploitation of a child not listed here.

You should make a CyberTipline report if you are, or were at the time, under 18 and may have been the victim of sexual exploitation or abuse. You should also make a report if you have information about the possible sexual exploitation and/or abuse of a child.