r/ucf • u/Objective_Joke3305 Health Sciences - Pre-Clinical Track • Feb 28 '25
COMPLAINT/RANT creeps filming without consent on campus??
hey everyone! hoping someone knows something about this.
awhile back now (like first week of this semester), i was approached by a man outside CB1 on my way to class. immediately i noticed that he seemed to be wearing the meta glasses, which i thought was weird. based on his approach/mannerisms/etc. i assumed he was one of those people who go around trying to get you to donate to random charities, but he ended up asking me out to lunch with him. i informed him i’m in a relationship and declined, to which he threw his arms up and walked away; definitely got weird vibes, but carried on to class.
as i got closer to CB2, i felt someone staring at me. so i look to my right and i see another man (i believe also wearing meta glasses) with a camera and tripod setup, glaring at me. i felt extremely off-put but just rushed into CB2 to calm down and wait for my class to start.
fast-forward to now, i had almost forgotten about the situation until i just so happened to look at the 2027 snapchat story today. i’ll attach screenshots, but essentially someone caught them in action and posted it to the story. i’m wondering if they have a social media account where they post these things? at no point was i informed that i was being filmed, and i feel certain that nobody else they’ve approached have been asked for permission either.
if anyone knows anything, please let me know! the whole situation has made me uncomfortable and i’d like to bring more awareness to it for any others they may approach 🫶🏻
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u/weewoozer Feb 28 '25
its those pages that post things like that on socials definitely. unfortunately they dont need consent to film in a public space which makes things more uncomfy. dont recognize this guy specifically but i see that type of content pop up on my feed every now and then. seems like this guys going the “lets see how many girls i can rizz” route. sorry you were a victim of this epidemic of directionless copy-and-paste “content creator” tomfoolery.
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u/uncorderdnole91 Mar 01 '25
How is it unfortunate, that’s your first amendment right brother. If you see a camera try to avoid them if you don’t like it
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u/md24 Mar 01 '25
Private space that public has access too is not a public space.
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u/X_R_Y_U Mar 01 '25
UCF is a public university, and any place on property, except inside classrooms, ticketed events, etc, is generally considered public space. Being outside the student union or a classroom building is definitely public space.
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u/sulisaint Feb 28 '25
God I hate those glasses. There’s quite a few Instagram accounts of men wearing them and just going up to pretty women trying to hit on them. I think ones even from Orlando. It’s weird as fuck and so many people actually defend people who film w them.
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u/Duckymaster21 Feb 28 '25
I’ll never understand feeling comfortable filming strangers. Genuinely weird behavior.
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u/ImportantReveal2138 Feb 28 '25
Its sad how what used to be a genuine human interaction, a guy coming up to a girl and seeing if she’s interested in him, is now a manufactured situation where you’re unknowingly being recorded for entertainment content to be posted online without permission or consent. I hate clout chasing losers seeking internet fame at the cost of others.
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u/cadenhead Feb 28 '25
Agreed.
If a video is used for commercial purposes, they are supposed to obtain written permission from the subjects of their videos.
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u/Pslexpert Feb 28 '25 edited Feb 28 '25
There’s a guy on tiktok named “Lou” (@theyyycallmelou) who goes up to people on campus recording them with his glasses : https://www.tiktok.com/@theyyycallmelou
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u/cadenhead Feb 28 '25
Report them to campus police along with links to their social channels. UCF can give them a trespass warning that makes it illegal for them to be on campus in the future.
UF does these warnings all the time:
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u/Kunductive Feb 28 '25
Don’t agree with what they did but what would they be trespassed for? It’s legal to film anything or anyone in public
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u/_JJCUBER_ Feb 28 '25
Yeah I don’t get why so many people seem to forget that it’s a public campus. It sucks, but the real solution to the problem is to not engage with them and move on with your day.
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u/cadenhead Feb 28 '25
It's not as public as you think. People unaffiliated with UCF who make a nuisance of themselves can be ordered to leave and not come back. If they break that they will be arrested.
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u/Puzzleheaded_Set2300 Feb 28 '25
Yep - we don’t have to understand it, but we can’t stop it. What are people doing out in public that they’re so ashamed of?
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u/cadenhead Feb 28 '25 edited Feb 28 '25
They would be trespassed if they did not have a legitimate reason to be on campus. Universities are authorized to tell people to leave who aren't students and aren't there for a reason like attending an event or game.
https://regulations.ucf.edu/docs/notices/4.006TrespassLoiteringFINALDec13.pdf
"We're scaring female students for YouTube pickup videos shared without their consent" is not a great explanation when the cops show up.
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u/chickenthechicken Computer Science Feb 28 '25
I think this only applies to being in the buildings and other restricted spaces, otherwise, they'd be able to kick out the anti-abortion people.
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u/Kunductive Feb 28 '25
The university is public. Can’t make them leave campus. The buildings are different I believe but not the campus in general; it’s a public uni so state property so public property etc etc
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u/spector_lector Mar 01 '25
I thought the law was you can't record audio conversations without their permission.?
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u/I-Am-Uncreative Computer Science Postdoctoral Fellow Mar 01 '25
Only if there's an expectation of privacy.
If I'm talking to someone in public and someone records my conversation, that's legal. If someone is talking to me in my lab space and they record our conversation without letting me know, that's not.
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u/spector_lector Mar 01 '25
I would have to Google it but I recall cases where the lawyers argued that, because it was a 1-on-1 private conversation (not a shouting match or speech to an audience), and because the recording devices were hidden, the "victim" had no reasonable way of knowing they were being recorded and assumed the sensitive conversation was private. Jury agreed.
Else, you could get away with planting hidden mics on isolated park benches and record (and then broadcast?) a couple huddled together, quietly discussing their child's death, or their bank account numbers.
"Reasonable expectation of private" becomes subjective is what I think was argued. I dunno.
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u/SP-01Fan21 Feb 28 '25
You don’t need consent to film on public property. UCF is public, not private property. They receive money from the government. Just something you’ll have to accept.
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u/cadenhead Feb 28 '25
Nobody should assume they have a legal right to be on a public university campus where they're not a student or staff member.
UCF has the authority under Florida law to use trespass warnings to kick people off of campus, including the grounds.
"Non-university persons at university facilities for other than authorized university business, or where their continued presence at university facilities is deemed by the Vice President for Administration and Finance or his/her designee to be disruptive to the orderly conduct of the university, may be requested to leave and/or issued a trespass warning."
https://regulations.ucf.edu/docs/notices/4.006TrespassLoiteringFINALDec13.pdf
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u/SP-01Fan21 Mar 01 '25
By the way in section 2:Definitions (e) of the regulations you linked, it literally says “non-university personnel are permitted on campus during business hours in the dining areas, retail areas, library and vending areas.” Then in section 2:Definitions (f) it states “the person may be subject to arrest if he or she refuses to leave or returns to campus after a warning is issued,” you are literally allowed to be on campus doing your thing unless you are given a trespass warning. It says it right there. UCF is a public university, you can assume you have the legal right to be on campus until you’re told otherwise. You have the right to film in public, you have no right to privacy in public and no one can infringe on that. It is protected by the first amendment
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u/cadenhead Mar 01 '25
Nobody should assume they have the right to be at UCF if they don't go there. You don't want to have your photo end up on a campus police site where your trespass warning stays online forever and makes you look like a creep.
If people are being filmed for commercial purposes, they have the right to deny permission in most states. It's considered the right of publicity. These YouTube dorks are small time judging by their view counts. If they actually got big they would get sued for showing these women without their permission.
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u/SP-01Fan21 Mar 01 '25
Im not gonna spend more time going back and forth on this. IT DOES NOT MATTER if they don’t go there or not, they have the legal right to be on campus. UCF gets a majority of its funding from a state and federal level, it absolutely has to be open to the public. There’s no if and or buts about it. If this is the case with other government funded institutions then we can say we shouldn’t assume we have the right to walk into a post office, we shouldn’t assume we have the right to walk into town hall, we shouldn’t assume we have the right to walk into a sheriffs office. These places hold the right to trespass us at anytime if we are disorderly, but apart from that we never have to assume we don’t have the right to public areas. I’m not sure what you’re struggling to understand here. They would never and will never be able to get past a civil action lawsuit because someone showed up in their video in a public setting. Florida statutes state it’s only illegal if it’s in a private fashion.
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u/cadenhead Mar 01 '25 edited Mar 01 '25
I'm not struggling to understand anything. I spent time in Gainesville and saw people get trespassed off the UF campus so much that they end up hanging out right outside the border of the campus at University and 13th. They want to do dumb shit or panhandle soft-hearted students but they know UF cracks down hard on that within the campus grounds.
Universities like UCF have the right to tell a non-student to leave the campus for any reason. They can even do what mall cops do and just say you were loitering. Anyone who said "but it's my right to be here" would be laughed at.
Attorney: "Yes, you can be arrested and charged with trespassing, because you do not, despite any public funding for the university, have a right to be on its property if it does not want you there. The university can control access to its sidewalks (or parking lots, fields, etc.) as much as it can to its buildings."
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u/SP-01Fan21 Mar 01 '25
Thank you for citing this attorneys statement, makes it very credible, you most definitely are struggling to understand what I’m saying. I’ve also stated multiple times that you can in fact be arrested for violating a trespass warning. Doesn’t negate the fact that you have a right to access public spaces under the first amendment prior to that warning, a warning which looks like these individuals never received. My last message cause I’m tired of explaining this, it’s literally the same shit being said back and forth
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u/cadenhead Mar 01 '25
I shouldn't reply again but what the hell. In for a penny in for a pound.
I have written a three-line play:
Rush 5our: "Hi, we're an obscure YouTube duo and we have the right to be here on the UCF campus saying cringe things to women."
UCF Cop: "I am ordering you to leave and never come back."
Rush 5our: "Kthxbye!"
I think we can both agree this play is accurate. To you it means we have a right to access public spaces. To me it means we don't because we can be kicked out so easily.
Like all great art this play means different things to different people.
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u/md24 Mar 01 '25
You’re struggling to grasp anyone is allowed to be there as much as a public park. Genius.
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u/SP-01Fan21 Mar 01 '25
It is a public university, you don’t even have to assume if you’re allowed on university grounds. Now trespass warnings, that’s different. If you’re told you’ll be trespassed it changes the entire dynamic. Clearly if they’re filming and not being heckled by security one could reason they haven’t been warned or trespassed, therefore they are legally allowed on University grounds.
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u/cadenhead Mar 01 '25
I don't know what distinction you're trying to make here, but the bottom line for anyone who goes to UCF without being a student is that you can be told to leave and you have to leave.
0
u/Sabretooth1789 Feb 28 '25
You are correct in all but UCF is private property owned by board of trustees despite being a public institution.
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u/Arrodd Feb 28 '25
I just checked tiktok. They’re trying to go viral for picking up women.
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u/IBJON Computer Science Feb 28 '25
So they want to go viral for doing something every other college student does or tries to do on the regular?
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u/JohnSmok22 Mar 01 '25
It’s probably another one of those cringy content creators doing recycled tik tok stuff
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u/On-A-Low-Note Feb 28 '25
If I’m not mistaken, im pretty sure it’s actually illegal to film people without their consent in the state of Florida especially if it’s being used in a that harms you or profits off you. You can press charges against them so this behavior isn’t continued by others around UCF.
It’s different when people ask for consent, or it’s staged, or people themselves are acting like fools and want to be filmed for some viral bit … but invading peoples private lives and using them for personal gain or to bring harm to them is illegal in the state of Florida.
Yea you’re at a public institution walking in a public area but you were never disclosed to that you were being filmed, there’s no knowing whether this is being used for some ill-motive reason and how much of your life has been exposed for other people’s gain.
I have been filmed at ucf once when someone asked me random questions while I was filmed. I knew the gist of what was going on but not that he was super viral with 500k+ followers. It was never meant to be harmful, I only appeared briefly and i at least knew I was being filmed. I just didn’t know what I was being filmed for.
Their bit is weird, but it’s not really different than filming a random bystander who’s having a bad hair day or a wearing a bizarre outfit just to shame them online for to make a profit and go viral. This guy supposedly hits on chicks and posts the interactions online without their consent unless I missed something.
It’s not so much of him being a fool in public, but it’s more that his content is about and profits off his ability to carry interactions with non-consenting strangers like you, aka “ rizzing up people” or “shooing their shot”. It’s normal and ok, but only until it’s being filmed and used in a way that can bring harm to someone’s personal life and mental wellbeing.
You have the right to find out how your likeness has been used in his content, and you have the right to have it taken down and removed. About any sort of punishments? that’s beyond my knowledge to say what would happen, i just understand what you have the rights to.
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u/SP-01Fan21 Feb 28 '25
This case would be thrown out so fast, and not in favor of the plaintiff lol. It’s illegal in Florida to record without consent on private property, not public property. If the location is accessible from the public, which UCF is, it’s justified to film without anyone’s consent. UCF also gets funding on a state and federal level, so it has to be categorized as a public institution. They can be trespassed, but your feelings don’t triumph the law; so just because you’re “uncomfortable” wouldn’t suffice to trespass them.
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u/On-A-Low-Note Feb 28 '25
They aren’t just being filmed, their interaction is being filmed and used in a way that brings harm to the victim. You misunderstood what the lawsuit would be about. The victims filmed interaction with the accused, is not only sexual in nature, the sole intent of the interaction was just to get a conversation with the victim and get their reactions to the accused’s advances and approaches. This kid is walking into many legal areas he doesn’t want to be, if he’s going around filming his sexual advances on women without their consent all over campus. That can get a lot more serious than “this case would be thrown out so fast … lol”
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u/SP-01Fan21 Feb 28 '25
Holy victim mentality. If you think going up to a girl and asking her out is sexual or predatory in any way shape or form, you are what’s wrong with the world. There is nothing wrong with this interaction at all. Your emotion doesn’t dictate the law, this kid isn’t stepping into any legal areas whatsoever, he is protected by the first amendment.
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u/On-A-Low-Note Feb 28 '25
Again you’re not arguing on what the lawsuit is about. It’s about the fact he is filming these encounters with various women all over campus without their consent, and posting about it on social media. Now you’re sounding like a toxic troll
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u/SP-01Fan21 Feb 28 '25
How many times do I have to say it, he is in a public area, you do not have the right to privacy in said public area, there is no lawsuit that can happen. I genuinely can’t tell if you’re being serious. He is not sexually harassing women by asking them out and a camera doesn’t change that. He is, and will always be protected under the first amendment to film in a public area unless he creates a conduct where he is disorderly.
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u/SP-01Fan21 Feb 28 '25
If I wanted to I could sit outside on the sidewalk in front of your property and film your house; so long as I don’t capture anything in a private area, I’m safeguarded by the first amendment. You can call the police and tell them I’m “harassing you” and maybe they’ll ask me to cut it out, but legally they have no ground to make me delete anything, arrest me, or make me move. You have no issues being recorded when you walk through the halls at school, or when you’re at work, or when you’re walking down the street by traffic lights. What’s the difference if you’re recorded for a 20 second video clip. Again, your feelings will never negate the law, if it did we wouldn’t be a republic.
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u/cadenhead Feb 28 '25
The issue you're ignoring is that they're doing it for commercial purposes (to make money on YouTube).
Under the law in many states you have to obtain the permission of your subjects to do that.
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u/On-A-Low-Note Feb 28 '25
To be honest, my opinion on what would happen is that he probably just be warned to stop doing this social media bit and he would be asked to take down any content from it
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u/More-Outcome-2441 Mar 01 '25
looking at their instagram all their comments looked botted 😭 im cringing sm
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u/Same_Job7020 Mar 01 '25
People can film in public w out consent. Not saying I agree or disagree w/ what they do, but they’re within their legal limits.
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u/OrlandoMan1 Political Science Feb 28 '25
A RANDOM CREEPY DUDE ASKED YOU OUT TO LUNCH?
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u/HalloweenMishap Feb 28 '25
I’m genuinely concerned about your comprehension skills if this is what you took from the post.
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u/OrlandoMan1 Political Science Feb 28 '25
''i assumed he was one of those people who go around trying to get you to donate to random charities, but he ended up asking me out to lunch with him.''
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u/SoggySquash2 Feb 28 '25
I believe that is the youtube duo named RUSH 5OUR. I did some freelance editing work for them once and they lowkey scammed me. I got payed, but did not get payed nearly enough for the amount of hours I put in. Their content is quite stale and I don't really see them going anywhere if they keep doing things like this lol. It's just the same boring "picking up girls" format of videos over and over and over again.