Under the California cyber flashing law, anyone who receives an unsolicited obscene image from an adult sender can sue that sender in civil court. Civil Code Section 1708.88, added by Senate Bill 53 in September 2022, lets recipients recover actual damages for emotional distress or, if they had already told the sender not to send explicit material, statutory damages of $1,500 to $30,000 plus attorney’s fees.1California Legislative Information. California Civil Code 1708.88 – SB 53 The statute is civil only. Prosecutors do not charge people under Section 1708.88 itself, though separate criminal laws can apply depending on the facts.
What Section 1708.88 Covers
The law reaches anyone 18 or older who knowingly sends an image they know or should know is unsolicited, when that image depicts obscene material transmitted electronically. It covers still images and video, and it applies regardless of the app, service, or device used.1California Legislative Information. California Civil Code 1708.88 – SB 53
An image is “unsolicited” under the statute when the recipient either never consented to receive it or expressly told the sender not to send it. Those are two different situations, and which one applies changes what you can recover. The obscenity standard tracks California’s broader definition: the material must appeal to prurient interest, depict sexual conduct in a patently offensive way, and lack serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value.1California Legislative Information. California Civil Code 1708.88 – SB 53
The legislature originally weighed making cyber flashing a criminal offense with fines for repeat offenders. That provision was dropped after opposition from public defenders, and the enacted law is purely civil.
What You Can Recover
Damages under Section 1708.88 come in two tiers, and the tier depends on whether you had already told the sender to stop.
If you received an unsolicited explicit image without having expressly forbidden it beforehand, you can recover economic and noneconomic damages actually caused by receiving the image, including compensation for emotional distress.1California Legislative Information. California Civil Code 1708.88 – SB 53 That means proving what the incident cost you, which is difficult when the harm is primarily emotional.
If you did tell the sender not to send explicit material and they sent it anyway, a stronger set of remedies opens up:
- Statutory damages between $1,500 and $30,000, which you can elect instead of proving actual losses.
- Punitive damages on top of statutory or actual damages.
- Attorney’s fees and costs.
- Injunctive relief ordering the sender to stop.
The statutory damages option matters because emotional harm from receiving an unwanted explicit image is real but hard to quantify. Claiming $1,500 to $30,000 without itemizing losses removes a serious barrier to filing suit.1California Legislative Information. California Civil Code 1708.88 – SB 53 The practical implication: a clear written message telling someone not to send you explicit content, kept and dated, can be worth thousands of dollars if they ignore it.
How This Is Different From California’s Revenge Porn Law
Civil Code Section 1708.85 addresses a different problem: someone distributing private intimate images of another person without that person’s consent. The protected victim there is the person depicted in the image, not the person who receives it.2California Legislative Information. California Civil Code 1708.85 Section 1708.88 protects the unwilling recipient of an obscene image, typically from the sender who is depicted in it. If someone forwards intimate images of a third party to you, both statutes could apply to the same incident, protecting different people.
Criminal Laws That May Also Apply
Section 1708.88 does not carry criminal penalties, but other statutes can reach the same conduct when the facts fit.
Electronic Harassment Under Penal Code 653.2
If the sender acted with intent to place you in reasonable fear for your safety or your family’s, and the electronic communication was likely to produce harassment or unwanted contact, Penal Code Section 653.2 makes that a misdemeanor. Conviction carries up to one year in county jail, a fine of up to $1,000, or both.3California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 653.2 The intent requirement is the sticking point. Many cyber flashing incidents will not meet it, which is part of why the civil remedy was needed in the first place.
Sending Explicit Material to a Minor Under Penal Code 288.2
The picture changes sharply when the recipient is under 18. Penal Code Section 288.2 makes it a crime to send harmful sexual material to someone the sender knows or believes to be a minor, when done with intent to arouse either party and intent to engage in sexual contact. It is a wobbler, chargeable as a misdemeanor or felony.4California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 288.2
If the material itself depicts a minor engaged in sexual conduct, the felony sentence is two, three, or five years in state prison. If it does not, the felony carries 16 months, two years, or three years. The misdemeanor version of either carries up to a year in county jail.4California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 288.2
When Federal Law Comes In
If the image crosses state lines or international borders electronically, 18 U.S.C. § 1462 makes it a federal crime to knowingly use an interactive computer service to transmit obscene material in interstate or foreign commerce. A first offense carries up to five years in federal prison; each subsequent offense carries up to ten.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 1462 – Importation or Transportation of Obscene Matters Federal prosecution over a single unsolicited image between adults is rare in practice, but the statute is on the books for patterns of conduct that go further.
Reporting and Building Your Case
Whether you plan to sue under Section 1708.88 or push for criminal charges under one of the statutes above, the evidence you gather in the first hours matters most.
- Screenshot the image, the sender’s profile or phone number, timestamps, and any surrounding messages. If the content came through a disappearing-message feature, move fast.
- Capture the notification, the app or service it arrived through, and any account details visible on the sender’s profile, not just the image itself.
- File a police report. Even if prosecutors decline to bring charges under Section 653.2, the report creates an official record that strengthens a civil case. When the recipient is a minor, police involvement is essential because of the penalties under Penal Code 288.2.
- Report to the platform. Bans do not compensate you, but they add documentation and may stop the sender from reaching others.
- Talk to a lawyer familiar with digital harassment. Counsel can weigh whether your facts fit Section 1708.88 and whether to seek actual damages or elect the statutory range.
If the harassment continues and you fear for your safety, California courts can issue a civil harassment restraining order. And if you have not yet told the sender to stop but you might hear from them again, a clear written instruction to stop, saved and dated, puts any future image in the stronger damages tier under Section 1708.88.