Laws against stalking, harassment, and bullying have existed for a long time, but with the rise of electronic communication, cyber harassment has become a problem. Cyber harassment laws now exist in many jurisdictions, and penalties vary widely. Cyber harassment is defined as ongoing unwanted actions by electronic means, and can include threats, demands, and coercion. Cyber harassment laws can be used in conjunction with existing laws, and can help identify the perpetrator. Cyberstalking is a more serious crime and can result in a lengthy prison sentence.
Most jurisdictions have long had laws defining and punishing stalking, harassment and bullying. With electronic communication becoming the primary form of communication, most jurisdictions have faced the problem of cyberstalking, harassment and bullying. As a result, cyber harassment laws, designed to prosecute these types of attacks, now exist in many jurisdictions.
Harassment, in legal terms, is generally defined as ongoing and/or systematic unwanted actions by a party towards a victim. This may include threats, demands or coercion and may be based on an individual dislike for the person or on the race, nationality, political or religious beliefs or gender of the person being harassed. Stalking generally includes harassment with the addition of a credible threat to the victim. Bullying is a relatively new legal term that is often interchangeable with harassment with the addition of the requirement that the victim be a minor.
With the advent of the internet came cyber crimes including cyber harassment. Cyber harassment is simply harassment done by electronic means. Common examples of this type of harassment include repeated unwanted or threatening emails, instant messages, or social networking contacts. Cyber harassment can also take the form of bogs or entire websites designed to upset, annoy, or verbally attack a victim.
Existing cyber harassment laws can sometimes be used to prosecute cyber harassment, but many jurisdictions have enacted separate cyber harassment laws designed to specifically address the act of harassing someone online. Cyber harassment laws can also be used in conjunction with existing laws, such as laws that protect victims of a crime from contacting the offender. Violating a no-contact order, for example, may be charged as a violation only or may be charged under existing laws.
In many cases, the victim of cyber harassment knows who the perpetrator of the crime is, but sometimes the perpetrator can hide behind the shield created by the Internet. Another benefit of these laws is that they often provide legal mechanisms for obtaining the identity of the author. Cyber harassment laws have put pressure on Internet providers, social networking sites and other websites to request personally identifiable information when a user accesses or uses the site or service.
Penalties for violating cyber harassment laws vary widely by jurisdiction. In most cases, cyber harassment is charged as a felony. The more serious crime of cyberstalking, however, can be a felony in some jurisdictions and punishable by a lengthy prison sentence.
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