California Senate Bill 1411, authored by Sen. Joe Simitian, D-Palo Alto, confronts the new dangers of social networking websites such as Facebook. In effect since Jan. 1, the law makes online impersonation intended to “harm, intimidate or defraud” someone illegal. Offenders may face up to a year in prison and a $1,000 fine.
Although SB 1411 confronts a significant problem in the digital age, it has received criticism from some legal scholars alleging the new law could infringe on the First Amendment right to free speech. The law attempts to address this problem through a clause stating that parody or satire is acceptable and that malicious intent must be apparent.
Ryan Calo, the director of the Consumer Privacy Project at Stanford Law School, warns that the line between harmful intent and satire remains blurred. It’s difficult to point exactly to acts of impersonation that are threatening, intimidating or defrauding, according to Calo.
“Reasonable people will disagree whether an impersonation falls within these categories,” Calo said.
Read the full story at the Stanford Daily.
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