Who is responsible for electronic harassment




















Sending negative messages directly to the victim. Impersonating the victim online by sending an inflammatory, controversial or enticing message which causes others to respond negatively to the victim. Harassing the victim during a live chat.

Leaving abusive messages online, including social media sites. Sending the victim pornography or other graphic material that is knowingly offensive.

Creating online content that depicts the victim in negative ways. While every situation is different, in general, steps to help prevent cyberbullying can include: In the workplace: Use a gender neutral e-mail address if you have a choice. Make your e-mail password at least twelve 12 characters long although longer passwords may be appropriate.

Make sure that it is a combination of capital and lower-case letters, numbers, and symbols. The best passwords don't spell anything and don't follow a logical pattern. Change your password frequently. Review the workplace's policy about the use of e-mail signatures the block of text that gets added automatically to the end of an outgoing message. It should provide enough information about the person so that they can be identified, but not so much that they are providing e-mail recipients with personal information.

Use encryption, privacy settings, software, or other technological tools to increase the security provided to e-mails and internet use. Follow guidelines from your organization's Internet technology specialist as there will be additional requirements regarding privacy settings, and safety from computer viruses, malicious software, etc.

Follow any policies or procedures your organization has in place for Internet communication. Discuss Internet privacy and safety with your organization's Internet technology specialist. Limit the information you share in your "out of office" message to the dates of your absence and who to contact. Don't broadcast that you are on vacation or on work-related travel.

Do not leave your computer logged in and unattended. Other tips: Be careful what you post. While you may be able to remove the original post, it is not possible to remove copies that others have made. Be very cautious about meeting online acquaintances in person. If you choose to meet, do so in a public place and take along a friend or business associate.

For personal use, consider setting up two e-mail accounts. One used for formal correspondence and one that has another name for use in discussion groups, etc.

Change or cancel your secondary account if you start receiving too much unwanted mail. If you want to remain anonymous, DO NOT list your e-mail address on any Web pages or give your e-mail address when filling out forms on Web pages unless necessary. If possible, use an anonymous browser to browse the Web. Web sites collect information about visitors e. Anonymous browsers offer varying degrees of security, some are free and some are not. Discuss your safety and privacy with your Internet Service Provider.

With respect to the charge of aggravated harassment, the offense requires the defendant to have communicated with the victim, either anonymously or otherwise, through telephone, telegraph, mail, or any other form of written communication. Since Barber did not send the photos to his girlfriend, the judge concluded he could not be held responsible under this section of the penal code.

But it can be hard to rewrite laws over and over as technology changes. Some states have already criminalized the distribution of sexual images. Citron wrote in Slate that New Jersey was the first to make it a criminal invasion of privacy to disclose sexual images without consent, in The bill—if enacted—would make it a criminal offense across the country to nonconsensually publish intimate images, and would also grant a court the power to order a Canadian internet service provider to delete the images from its server.

In the United States, Citron also suggests narrowly amending section of the Communications Decency Act, which currently grants website operators immunity for publishing these photos. Critics say this could curtail important First Amendment rights.

But Citron said the 10 cyberstalking cases prosecuted over the last three years in California all targeted women and none of them sought increased penalties using civil-rights laws. The GamerGate campaign and the horrifying threats of violence, rape, and murder that prominent women in the video-game community like Brianna Wu and Anita Sarkeesian have endured online is illustrative of this.

These threats have forced these women to file reports with the police, flee from their homes for safety, and cancel university lectures. These are clearly examples of gendered attacks , and could, theoretically, be prosecuted as such. Take the case of feminist blogger Rebecca Watson.

Watson writes that in , she came across a website of a man who was writing about murdering her. After some research, she tracked down his real name and location which was within a three-hour drive of her home.

So without the support of the police, and in the face of confusing and unhelpful laws, what should women who face harassment online do? There are some initial steps victims can take to protect themselves, said Jayne Hitchcock, president of Working to Halt Online Abuse , in a recent phone interview.

First, even though they may not be helpful, she encourages victims to tell the relevant authorities, and clearly tell their harasser to stop contacting them. Then, they should stop responding to messages or online communications from their harasser. If the communications are coming from a free email or social-media account, Hitchcock said users should file complaints with the company, report the messages to social-media outlets, and block the person from their phone or friends list.

Of course, social-media companies generally don't have a great record of dealing with abuse either. But Hitchcock said that reporting the abuse is still worth doing, if only to cover your bases. United States. According to court documents , Anthony Elonis was sentenced to 44 months in prison after he was convicted in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania for threatening to kill his now ex- wife, via violent Facebook postings.

The victim does not have to prove that the stalker had the intent to carry out the threat. California Penal Code California Penal Code m. Additionally, it is illegal to make credible threats by means of any electronic communication device, including but not limited to telephones, cell phones, smart phones, tablets and computers. Another law makes it a crime to use an electronic communication device to distribute personal information of another person without their consent, and with the intent to harass them or cause them fear.

There are more severe penalties when the stalker pursues the same person in violation of a court restraining order, with a sentencing range of two to four years imprisonment. Persons convicted of felony stalking also face stricter penalties if they continue to stalk their victim s.

Courts may issue restraining orders to prohibit stalking. California Family Code A victim, family member or witness may request that the California Department of Corrections, county sheriff or the director of the local department of corrections notify them by phone or mail 15 days before a convicted stalker is released from jail or prison. The victim, family member or witness must keep these departments notified of their most current mailing address and telephone number. The information relating to persons who receive notice must be kept confidential and not released to the convicted stalker.

See Civil Code When stalking occurs in the workplace, an employer can request a temporary restraining order or an injunction on behalf of the employee who is a victim of stalking. California Code of Civil Procedure Victims may also request that the California Department of Motor Vehicles DMV suppress their automobile registration and driver's license records from being released to persons other than court and law enforcement officials, other governmental agencies or specified financial institutions, insurers and attorneys.

California Vehicle Code It is prohibited for anyone to knowingly publicly post the personal information of a stalking or domestic violence victim with the intent to put them in danger or in fear of danger. Many other states also have confidentiality programs that allow victims to suppress personal information. It is a crime to take explicit photos or videos of another person and distribute them in a way that is intended to cause emotional distress. If the victim is a minor, or if the perpetrator has previously been convicted, the punishment is more severe.

California Penal Code j , k. Unauthorized Information: The Computer Fraud and Abuse Act creates civil and criminal liability for a person who obtains any information from any internet-connected computer without authorization. An additional civil and criminal remedy exists for those who access a computer with the intent to defraud.

Copyright Infringement: Victims of nonconsensual online publication of intimate photographs or videos revenge porn may bring a civil suit for copyright infringement if the victim is the person who originally took the picture, and is thus the copyright owner. Posted: Jun 01 Revised: Oct 25 Please note that this guide is for informational purposes only.

Who Is Affected? What Is Online Harassment? Cyberstalking Stalkers can use the anonymity of the Internet to commit their crimes. Some examples of cyberstalking include: Sending manipulative, threatening, lewd or harassing emails from an assortment of email accounts.



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