Florida woman puts up privacy fence. Then she notices a camera pointing into her yard: ‘This is lazy peeping tom behavior’

Many people purchase homes for more space, more control over that space, and more privacy. But one Florida woman is finding out that her neighbor doesn't want to grant her the latter.

Florida content creator JoAnn Elswick (@joannelswick) posted a video that received more than 1.7 million views. In it, she highlighted how one of her neighbors installed a camera that pointed directly into her yard above her privacy fence.

‘You're looking at a security camera'

Elswick started her video by showing the conspicuous camera that was looking over her yard. “ So you're looking at a security camera overlooking a six-foot privacy fence into my backyard,” she said.

Then she turned her camera to face her property, while saying, “The reason I'm posting this is … I have a six-foot privacy fence, [and]  I have cameras that also overlook my property. I made sure they don't go over my privacy fence.”

Her neighbor's camera, however, directly peered into her yard, unlike Elswick's installations. Considering this, Elswick called her city's non-emergency line. She was hoping that they could help her with the neighbor issue. Instead, they gave her a shocking response.

Elswick calls her city's non-emergency line

Elswick said that her local police department told her it was legal for her neighbor to point a camera into her yard.  

“ So I talked to Deputy Nelson, who tells me that my neighbor with this camera right here,” Elswick said, while pointing her hand at her neighbor's camera. “That, as you [can] see, is looking into my backyard, is… It's okay to do it.”

But Elswick said she remembered Florida's laws and statutes differently.

“ Florida statute, which is what I looked up before I posted or before I put my security cameras up along my house, was you can only have security cameras that are viewable [to the] public,” Elswick said.

She added, “I've abided by that law. So Deputy Nelson is telling me, ‘No, this is approved. You can do this as long as it's not being posted.'”

@joannelswick #floridalaw #securitycamera ♬ original sound – JoAnn Elswick

What does Florida law say?

Florida state law offers some guidance regarding cameras pointed toward neighbors' homes, but it's not cut-and-dried. RecordingLaw, a digital site that discusses provisions and statutes across the United States, says that “Florida does not have a single comprehensive surveillance camera statute.” But the site explicitly states homeowners cannot put up cameras “pointed directly into a neighbor's windows, over privacy fences into backyards, or into other areas where the neighbor has a reasonable expectation of privacy.”

In Jackman v. Cebrink-Swartz, which made its way to the Second District Court of Appeal in Florida, the court confirmed that there is a “material difference” between looking into a neighbor's yard during a fleeting moment and putting a camera up to deliberately surveil them, an important note for Elswick's predicament. However, the appellate court said there was some uncertainty “about what surveillance activities may be maintained without resulting in an invasion of privacy of another person.”

In an update, Elswick stated that she contacted her city's ordinance code enforcement office. Elswick said the city didn't have any ordinances that were relevant to her situation. They told her it was a civil matter; Elswick would have to go to court to proceed. So Elswick told her audience she was going to take the matter to court.

Buzz News reached out to Elswick via TikTok direct message for comment.