Bill to Make Online Threats Illegal Passes First Committee
October 25th, 2017 by Jake Stofan
Legislation that cleared a committee in the state Capitol Wednesday would make broad threats on social media a felony.
In the age of social media, violent threats made online have become all too common.
One out of ten internet users report being victim to online threats and more than a third of threats against public schools are made over the internet.
“I mean we’ve seen instances where people have posted things and then they’ve gone and actually did a bad act,” said Representative Stan McClain.
But unless a threat is directly sent to a person, law enforcement can’t investigate.
Legislation approved by a committee here in the Capitol would make it a felony to post threats of physical violence on social media, punishable by up to 15 years in prison.
The legislation is aimed at credible threats, but there are concerns including the possibility for people to become felons for a post made in a moment of poor judgement.
“We want to make sure that we protect the rights of individuals so that they don’t have to get into an incredibly long and perhaps protracted and difficult situation just because they engaged in an activity although ill-advised shouldn’t rise to the level of even being suspected of being criminal,” said Representative Julio Gonzalez.
Law enforcement says threats will be investigated, and it’s up to investigators to determine if charges are appropriate.
“We’re going to look at all the factors, who it was, what kind of history has there been, what kind of a threat was made, what’s the ability of that person to carry those threats out,” said Casselberry Police Chief Larry Krantz.
Even if a person is charged, prosecutors will have the final say if a felony conviction is the appropriate punishment for the specific crime.
If signed into law the changes would take affect on July 1st of next year.
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