The criminal offense of sextortion is a form of blackmail or extortion and is committed when a person threatens to publish private nude, pornographic, or explicit photos, videos, or images of another person’s body or sexual activity unless the person provides something of value—such as money, sexual activity, more sexual images, or the performance of sexual acts (often online using webcams).

Sextortion laws vary from state to state and are sometimes part of a state’s laws regarding revenge pornography, blackmail, extortion, bribery, or cyberstalking and are prosecuted under those or other criminal offenses rather than as a specific offense called sextortion. These laws are generally located in a state’s statutes—often in the penal or criminal code—and are sometimes titled with descriptive names such as The Unlawful Disclosure or Promotion of Intimate Visual Material.

In Tennessee, sextortion is not recognized as a distinct criminal offense under a specific statute named 'sextortion.' However, such conduct is typically prosecuted under various existing laws that criminalize blackmail, extortion, unlawful exposure, and non-consensual dissemination of private images, which is often referred to as 'revenge pornography.' Tennessee Code Annotated § 39-13-605, known as the 'Unlawful Exposure and Photography in a Private Place' statute, makes it illegal to photograph or record a person in a private place without consent for the purpose of sexual arousal or gratification. Additionally, Tennessee Code Annotated § 39-13-528 addresses 'Nonconsensual Dissemination of Private Sexual Images,' making it a crime to distribute intimate images without the consent of the person depicted. These laws are designed to protect individuals from having their privacy violated and being coerced into providing something of value under the threat of exposure. Violations of these laws can result in serious criminal penalties, including fines and imprisonment.