This is Missouri's new "Cyberbully" law. It was brought in to being based on the now worldwide news about a girl that hung herself after a girl down the street from her had her mother create a false myspace account and harass the girl to the killed herself to the point that she finally committed suicide. While a good idea morally, this law really sucks since it hurts free speech, privacy rights, and even the right to not be searched without a warrent.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the state of Missouri, as follows:
Section A. Sections 565.090 and 565.225, RSMo, are repealed and three new sections enacted in lieu thereof, to be known as sections 565.090, 565.091, and 565.225, to read as follows:
565.090. 1. A person commits the crime of harassment if for the purpose of frightening or disturbing another person, he
(1) Communicates in writing or by telephone a threat to commit any felony; or
Bomb theats have always been illegal, this law makes them potentially even more illegal and a felony if the person on the recieving end of the call is a minor and the person making the call is age 21 or older.
(2) Makes a telephone call or communicates in writing and uses coarse language offensive to one of average sensibility; or
I guess this means that this law also makes it illegal to do any sort of prank calls at all if the receiver, especially if the reciever is a minor and the sender is an adult over age 21. However, this goes much, much further though since any use of course language can be considered to be covered as long as receiving end of call, email, or other writing sees it as an intent to frighten or disturb... In other words, if a collection agency calls you and you see it as disturbing, you can get them with this law... but be careful though, if you respond to them and are vulgar in any way or threaten them with threats to go to bbb, atorney general or any other threats that they may see as frigtening, you could get busted under this law... This law might even make it illegal to send any capitalized words in emails at work since that could be considered "yelling" and course language. This thing totally does away with free speech more or less.... It also might make horror movies illegal since they are a method of scaring people...
(3) Makes a telephone call anonymously; or
In other words, anyone who hides their caller id in anyway could be breaking the law under this... especially if the receiver is a kid and receiver sees the call as frightening -- something many kids find with any call from anyone they don't know thanks to movies like Scream, the Ring, and I know what you did last summer... so if you mess up and accidentally misdial a phone sometime, you may have just performed a felony under this law!
(4) Makes repeated telephone calls.
Hope you don't have a redialer... if you redialed that kid you accidentally dialed to in the paragraph above, you just made yourself more of a felon under this law...
2. Harassment is a class A misdemeanor unless committed by an adult against a child, in which case, it is a class D felony.
3. As used in this section, the following terms shall mean:
(1) "Adult", any person twenty-one years of age or older;
(2) "Child", any person under seventeen years of age.
565.091. 1. A person commits the crime of cyber harassment if, for the purpose of frightening or disturbing another person, he or she transmits or causes the transmission of an electronic communication, or knowingly permits an electronic communication to be transmitted to another person from an electronic communications device under his or her control:
(1) Using coarse language offensive to a person of average sensibility;
(2) Anonymously or repeatedly whether or not conversation occurs; or
(3) Threatens to commit any felony.
2. No person shall make or cause to be made an electronic communication, or permit an electronic communication to be made from an electronic communications device under the person's control, with the intent to frighten or disturb any other person in any manner described in this section either by the direct action of the person initiating the communication or through the actions of a third party, which third party actions are instigated, initiated, prompted, or brought about by the person's communication.
3. Any offense committed under this section may be deemed to have been committed either at the place from which the communication was made or at the place where the communication was received.
4. As used in this section, the following terms shall mean:
(1) "Adult", any person twenty-one years of age or older;
(2) "Child", any person under seventeen years of age.
(3) "Electronic communications", the origination, emission, dissemination, transmission, or reception of data, images, signals, sounds, or other intelligence or equivalence of intelligence of any nature over any communications system by any method, including, but not limited to, a fiber optic, electronic, magnetic, optical, digital, or analog method. Such electronic communications shall include, but not be limited to electronic mail, Internet-based communications, pager service, and electronic text messaging;
(4) "Electronic communications device", any instrument, equipment, machine, or other device that facilitates telecommunication, including, but not limited to, a computer, computer network, computer chip, computer circuit, scanner, telephone, cellular telephone, pager, personal communications device, transponder, receiver, radio, modem, or device that enables the use of a modem.
5. Cyber harassment is a class A misdemeanor unless committed by an adult against a child, in which case, it is a class D felony.
565.225. 1. As used in this section, the following terms shall mean:
(1) "Adult", any person twenty-one years of age or older;
(2) "Child", any person under seventeen years of age;
(3) "Course of conduct", a pattern of conduct composed of a series of acts, which may include electronic or other communications, over a period of time, however short, evidencing a continuity of purpose. Constitutionally protected activity is not included within the meaning of "course of conduct". Such constitutionally protected activity includes picketing or other organized protests;
[(2)] (4) "Credible threat", a threat made with the intent to cause the person who is the target of the threat to reasonably fear for his or her safety. The threat must be against the life of, or a threat to cause physical injury to, a person and may include a threat communicated to the targeted person in writing, including electronic communications, by telephone, or by the posting of a site or message that is accessible via computer;
[(3)] (5) "Electronic communications", the origination, emission, dissemination, transmission, or reception of data, images, signals, sounds, or other intelligence or equivalence of intelligence of any nature over any communications system by any method, including, but not limited to, a fiber optic, electronic, magnetic, optical, digital, or analog method. Such electronic communications shall include, but not be limited to electronic mail, Internet-based communications, pager service, and electronic text messaging;
(6) "Harasses", to engage in a course of conduct [directed at a specific person] that serves no legitimate purpose, that would cause a reasonable person to suffer substantial emotional distress, and that actually causes substantial emotional distress to [that] a person.
2. Any person who purposely and repeatedly harasses or follows with the intent of harassing another person commits the crime of stalking.
3. Any person who purposely and repeatedly harasses or follows with the intent of harassing or harasses another person, and makes a credible threat with the intent to place that person in reasonable fear of death or serious physical injury, commits the crime of aggravated stalking.
4. The crime of stalking shall be a class A misdemeanor for the first offense unless such crime is committed by an adult against a child, in which case, it is a class D felony. A second or subsequent offense within five years of a previous finding or plea of guilt against any victim shall be a class D felony unless such crime is a second or subsequent offense by an adult against a child, in which case, it is a class C felony.
5. The crime of aggravated stalking shall be a class D felony for the first offense. A second or subsequent offense within five years of a previous finding or plea of guilt against any victim shall be a class C felony.
6. Any law enforcement officer may arrest, without a warrant, any person he or she has probable cause to believe has violated the provisions of this section.
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