Cyber bullying can now get you jail time in Michigan

quote:

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According to the law, a "pattern of repeated harassment" is a felony punishable by up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine. Meanwhile, cyberbullying that is found to cause a victim’s death is punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

According to Lucido's bill, "cyberbullying" is defined by "posting a message or statement in a public media forum about any other person" if both "the message or statement is intended to place a person in fear of bodily harm or death and expresses an intent to commit violence against the person" and "the message or statement is posted with the intent to communicate a threat or with knowledge that it will be viewed as a threat."

A "pattern of harassing or intimidating behavior" means a series of two or more separate noncontinuous acts of harassing or intimidating behavior.

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https://m.metrotimes.com/news-hits/archives/2018/12/28/cyberbullying-is-now-a-crime-in-michigan-punishable-by-jail-time

Since I know we have some Michigan users here, we should all consider putting a disclaimer in our sig line that says something to the effect that all our posts are for entertainment purposes only and are not to be taken seriously or literally.

This is the beginning of the end when it comes to freedom of expression online.