As reports of cyberstalkings filter in from the alleyways of America's chat rooms, lawmakers in Maryland have reintroduced legislation that would make it a crime to "annoy, abuse, torment, harass, or embarrass" anyone through email.
Violators of the Telephone and Electronic Mail Misuse Act - including anonymous and repeat senders of "obscene, lewd, lascivious, filthy, or indecent" messages - would face fines up to US$500 and three years in jail. The bill would amend a law barring telephone misuse, applying the same prohibitions to email and other electronic communications.
"I think it's sufficiently vague that a court would strike it down," said Ann Beeson, staff attorney at the American Civil Liberties Union. "Words like 'annoy' and 'embarrass' are so broad that they are unconstitutional"
That's not stopping such bills from being drafted. The bill, introduced last week and sponsored by Democratic delegate Samuel Rosenberg, died in committee last year. And similar legislation has been introduced in New York.
What's more, it's not clear how the law would be used to prosecute violators. In 1995, Connecticut passed a bill criminalizing the act of sending an online message "with intent to harass, annoy, or alarm another person." The Connecticut law has not been used, and has not been challenged in court, Beeson said.
