California Cyberstalking Law May Be Model
April 27, 2007 – 5:42 am
California legislators are considering a new law that would extend the state’s antistalking laws to prevent individuals from using websites and social networking sites such as MySpace.com and Craigslist to deliberately incite harassment or abuse against an individual. (See AB 919)
The prohibited harassment includes the posting of digital images or messages in an effort to cause fear, harassment or harm to an individual. Cops would be able to use stalking charges against the people responsible for the messages.
More than 40 states already have some form of cyberstalking legislation on their books but most prohibit acts involving intimidation and harassment of a person via e-mail, pagers, phones and cell phones.
The California bill is thought to be the first state law that extends the concept of stalking to messages and images posted on websites. The genesis of this bill was a situation where someone posted a minor’s picture and cell phone number on the web, along with a sexual solicitation in an adult section on Craigslist. Needless to say the female victim received numerous calls that she found very frightening.
In another creative revenge situation, a rental home in Tacoma, Washington, was ransacked after an individual believed to be an evicted tenant posted an advertisement on Craigslist inviting people to take whatever they wanted from the unlocked house for free. As a result, people descended on the home and stripped it of everything right down to the electrical fixtures and kitchen sink.
Although I hate to be the one to recommend a new law, this may be one that Virginia legislators should consider proposing.