Get My Cell Ready

I’m a bit behind the curve on this, but WTF.

There’s no shortage of dim bulbs in Congress. Take Linda Sanchez (D) from Orange County, who beat good old B-1 Bob Dornan a few years back in an election deeply tainted by voter fraud. This genius has sponsored H.R. 1966, the Megan Meier Cyberbullying Prevention Act. It’s supposed to curb behavior that led to last year’s suicide of the 13-year-old Meier.

Problem is, it overshoots the target area just a little bit and splatters napalm all over the village next door. Like potentially criminalizing harsh speech by people like me precisely meant to cause grief and pain to the objects of my ire. Here are the relevant bits.

Whoever transmits in interstate or foreign commerce any communication, with the intent to coerce, intimidate, harass, or cause substantial emotional distress to a person, using electronic means to support severe, repeated, and hostile behavior, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than two years, or both….

["Communication"] means the electronic transmission, between or among points specified by the user, of information of the user’s choosing, without change in the form or content of the information as sent and received; …

["Electronic means"] means any equipment dependent on electrical power to access an information service, including email, instant messaging, blogs, websites, telephones, and text messages.

Note the vagaries here. Anybody ‘intending’ to ‘coerce’ or ’cause substantial emotional distress’ to a person using a blog to ‘support severe, repeated and hostile behavior’ could get two years.

Let’s think this through. When some stupid politician does something ridiculous or corrupt, I fully intend to coerce them and cause them substantial emotional distress. And I’m hostile when I do it – occasionally very hostile. Hopefully, my hostility is expressed artfully and articulately, but it’s hostility nevertheless.

So, perhaps I should reserve my cell now? Something nice with ample light and air – and a functioning toilet.

H/T to Wired and Volokh.

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Tagged as: cyberbullying, H.R. 1966, Linda Sanchez