Nov. 24, 2015
HARRISBURG – An individual who seeks to hide behind a fake online profile to harass another would be committing a crime known as online impersonation, under legislation passed by the state House on Monday, said Rep. Kathy Watson (R-Bucks/144th), author of the measure.
House Bill 656 would make it a crime to create an online website or profile or open an email account to post messages, send emails or texts, while engaging in harassment, terroristic threats, stalking, or intimidating or retaliating against witnesses.
“Online impersonation takes cyber bullying to a whole new level and can result in long-lasting personal, financial or career-oriented consequences,” said Watson. “Cases of impersonating someone online to threaten, harass or stalk an individual – while hiding behind the anonymity of the Internet – are growing, and prosecutors have few tools to help them bring perpetrators to justice
Watson pointed to a local case, which was the subject of a hearing of the House Judiciary Committee a few years ago, as a reason why this legislation is necessary. A public school teacher discovered that two students had created an email account in her name and used it to harass another student. Local police investigated the incident and the account was shut down. However, the district attorney’s office indicated that the students could not be charged under the state’s identity theft statute as the teacher had not “suffered a [monetary] loss.”
If found guilty, the crime would be graded as a second-degree misdemeanor, punishable by up to two years in prison and/or a fine of up to $5,000, or as one grade higher than the underlying offense, whichever is greater.
Watson stressed that this measure is not designed to curtail any person’s right to free speech or right to create parodies, satires or commentaries, especially in terms of holding government and its leaders accountable. This measure solely is a means to prevent the type of cyber bullying that maliciously destroys someone’s reputation.
The measure would also allow victims to pursue civil action for this crime. A court may award actual damages (such as loss of money, reputation or property) or $500, whichever is greater, as well as attorney fees, court costs and restitution.
The legislation, which also passed the House unanimously last session, now heads to the state Senate. Last session, this proposal had the support of the PA District Attorneys Association, the PA State Police, the PA Chiefs of Police Association, and the PA State Troopers Association. Similar legislation was enacted in California in January 2011.
Representative Kathy Watson
144th District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Media Contact: Jennifer Keaton
717.705.2094
jkeaton@pahousegop.com
KathyWatson144.com /
Facebook.com/RepWatson