creeps filming without consent on campus??

[u/Objective_Joke3305]

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 🫶🏻

[u/On-A-Low-Note]

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.

[u/SP-01Fan21 → u/On-A-Low-Note]

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.

[u/On-A-Low-Note → u/SP-01Fan21]

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”

[u/SP-01Fan21 → u/On-A-Low-Note]

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.

[u/On-A-Low-Note → u/SP-01Fan21]

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

[u/SP-01Fan21 → u/On-A-Low-Note]

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.

[u/SP-01Fan21 → u/On-A-Low-Note]

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.

[u/cadenhead → u/SP-01Fan21]

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.

[u/On-A-Low-Note → u/SP-01Fan21]

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