Are There Laws against Cyberstalking

Nevertheless, there is still a lack of federal legislation that specifically addresses cyberbullying, leaving the majority of the legislature at the state level. [31] Some states have harassment and harassment laws that criminalize threatening and unwanted electronic communications. [42] The first anti-harassment law was enacted in California in 1990, and although all fifty states quickly passed anti-harassment laws, by 2009 only 14 of them had laws dealing specifically with «high-tech harassment.» [14] The first United States The Cyberbullying Act came into effect in California in 1999. [Citation needed] Other states have laws other than harassment or anti-harassment laws that prohibit the misuse of computer communications and email, while others have passed laws that include broad language that can be interpreted as including cyberstalking behavior, such as: in their legislation on harassment or criminal harassment. [Citation needed] Many criminal harassment offences now involve the use of electronic means to continually communicate with another person in a way that causes harm or emotional stress. Essentially, the difference between a harassment offence and a cyberbullying offence is how the behaviour is carried out. However, the underlying effects on the alleged victim are generally the same. In the case of a fourteen-year-old student in Michigan, for example, she laid charges against her alleged rapist, which led to her being persecuted and intimidated by other students. After her suicide in 2010, all charges against the man who allegedly raped her were dropped on the grounds that the only witness had died. This is despite the fact that legal allegations of rape could have been made. [52] In any case, if you are accused of criminal harassment or cyberbullying in Texas, you must protect your legal rights, and that starts with contacting and hiring a defense attorney experienced in harassment. For cyberbullying or cyberbullying to be punishable as a criminal offence, it must cause significant disturbance or emotional distress to the victim, or give rise to a reasonable fear of death or serious bodily harm, or fear that the same may happen to an immediate family member or intimate partner.

A conviction may result in a preliminary injunction, probation or criminal sanctions against the aggressor, including prison. [Citation needed] Cyberbullying was specifically addressed in the recent US federal law. For example, the Violence Against Women Act passed in 2000 made cyberbullying part of federal criminal harassment law. [31] The current U.S. federal law against cyberbullying can be found in 47 U.S.C. § 223. [41] Many states do not have specific criminal laws that distinguish between online and offline behavior. Your state may have harassment and harassment laws, but no cyberbullying or cyberstalking laws. Fortunately, the usual laws on harassment and stalking generally apply to communications, including online communications. Because cyberbullying is considered a subset of stalking in California, parties accused of such behavior can face both misdemeanors and so-called «flickering» crimes. Finally, prosecutors could charge you with cyberbullying under California`s domestic violence laws, which will expose you to additional penalties if the victim was your spouse, someone you live with, or someone in a romantic relationship. Violation of an injunction may result in imprisonment and a fine.

A number of key factors have been identified in cyberstalking: Can I get a stalking/cyberstalking injunction? Even if a harasser`s conduct does not result in criminal prosecution, the purposes of online abuse may be able to pursue a civil cause of action against the violent person by suing them in civil court for «tort claims» when a plaintiff seeks monetary or injunctive relief from those who caused him or her harm (injunctive relief means that the court forces the harasser to: to do or not to do something). Tort claims vary from state to state, but common tort claims include: intentional infliction of emotional stress, invasion of privacy (also known as «public disclosure of private facts»), and defamation. Depending on the extent of the evidence presented in a lawsuit, a person accused of cyberbullying may face misdemeanours or criminal offenses. «We can and must reform these laws,» Citron said. But it can be difficult to rewrite laws over and over again as technology evolves. For this reason, Citron prefers what he calls a «technologically neutral» language that can withstand changes in the digital world. «Look at the amendment to the federal telecommunications harassment law in 2013,» Citron said in an email sent to me.