‘This is illegal’: Florida woman says a deputy told her a neighbor’s camera can legally overlook her fenced backyard, but she disputes the ruling

A Florida woman said in a TikTok video that a neighbor’s security camera looks over her 6-foot privacy fence into her backyard. Joann Elswick, who posts as @joannelswick, pointed the camera at a white cube-shaped device mounted on a tree branch above a white vinyl fence. The video has drawn 1.6 million views, 134,500 likes, and more than 3,800 comments.

Elswick said she had just gotten off the phone with the non-emergency sheriff’s office and spoken with Deputy Nelson. She stated the deputy told her the neighbor’s camera was allowed as long as the neighbor did not post videos or pictures when Elswick was in the yard. She said she was getting ready to get naked to make that point.

She said the Florida statute she looked up before putting up her own cameras allowed only cameras that view public areas from the road. She said she had followed that rule. In the video she said, “This is illegal and it’s being permitted,” and asked viewers to contact the Sheriff’s Office about the Florida statute.

Follow-up posts described the camera disappearing and Deltona officials calling the dispute a civil matter

Elswick said she had her own security cameras on her property and had made sure they did not look over her privacy fence. Such disputes over camera placement have appeared elsewhere, as in a viral video showing a Flock camera cut down beside a road by a man who allegedly argued the cameras were unconstitutional. 

In a later photo post on TikTok, Elswick wrote that the camera was gone when she came home the day before. She asked what happened to “Crazy Karen Camera” and said she would see if it reappeared over the weekend. The photo showed a white cube-shaped device on a gnarled tree branch among green leaves and small yellow flowers.

In a third TikTok video, Elswick said TikTok had limited her account, which she called “ticktock jail,” and had given her less than a minute to post. She said the two earlier videos were hard for followers to see. She stated she had contacted the city ordinance office for Deltona, Florida.

Elswick said city staff told her they did not have anything that said the camera setup was allowed or not allowed. She said they told her it was a civil matter, so she would have to go to court. She said she would not hire a lawyer and would go to court herself.

She compared the camera to drone rules, saying you cannot fly a drone over people’s property. She then said, “But you can do this. Tell me how that’s legal.” She asked followers to support her and said people have a right to privacy. Privacy concerns can escalate beyond the initial incident, as when a man left a negative review after an Airbnb host sent his wife a doorbell camera image. 

A Recording Law FAQ states that a neighbor may aim cameras at their own property and may incidentally capture public views, but that pointing cameras directly into windows, a fenced yard, or other private areas may violate Florida Statute 810.145 on digital voyeurism and common-law privacy protections. The same FAQ states that recording audio of private conversations may violate Florida Statute 934.03.

The Legal Guide states that Florida treats cameras aimed at public streets or a neighbor’s own yard differently from cameras directed at areas with a reasonable expectation of privacy, such as inside a home, through a window, or in a fenced backyard. It describes an intrusion-upon-seclusion claim as an intentional intrusion that would be highly offensive to a reasonable person, and it notes Florida’s two-party consent rule for audio recording.

As for the video, some viewers offered advice and personal claims in the comments. One commenter wrote, “do NOT point a high powered laser beam into the lens, it would totally ruin the image sensor.” Another wrote, “he’s lying. put a privacy screen infront of camera, see if they move it.” A third suggested, “mirror on a stand,angle it to reflect back at the camera.”

Other commenters urged a different path. One wrote, “Talk to an attorney, not tiktok.” Another claimed, “I sued my neighbor for this very thing! Invasion of privacy among many other issues….and won as a pro se.” A further comment asked, “It’s it illegal of you spray water and clean your fence right where the camera is?”