Print Article(Sacramento) – Assemblyman Guy Houston´s (R-San Ramon) legislation aimed at preventing online harassment was signed by the Governor on Monday. Assembly Bill 919, the Internet Stalking Bill, is designed to protect citizens from stalking, harassment and other abuse over the internet.
"The most important duty of government is to protect its citizens. We must write laws with one eye on the present, and one for the future," stated Houston. "California is always at the cutting edge of technological advancement. We need laws to keep up with the technology."
The measure came about after a 17-year-old Danville girl was harassed when her picture and cell phone number was taken from her MySpace page, and posted on Craigslist with a lewd advertisement. The dozens of phone calls she received were obscene and threatening yet, police were unable to prosecute because it was not against the law.
"My daughter was harassed by someone who maliciously posted her private information over the internet," said Kathy Dillingham. "The laws of our state allowed this person to get off the hook and this means when any of our children are on the internet, they are vulnerable too. I want to thank Assemblyman Houston for taking action to protect our children from those who use the internet to harass and harm others."
This bill provides law enforcement officials the tools to go after these crimes. Assembly Bill 919 makes it a misdemeanor to use the internet to intentionally incite a third person to cause fear, harass or harm an individual.
"We need to send a message to people out there who think that it is ok to send out these messages intended to cause harm to others – your actions have consequences and will not be tolerated," said Houston.
"The most important duty of government is to protect its citizens. We must write laws with one eye on the present, and one for the future," stated Houston. "California is always at the cutting edge of technological advancement. We need laws to keep up with the technology."
The measure came about after a 17-year-old Danville girl was harassed when her picture and cell phone number was taken from her MySpace page, and posted on Craigslist with a lewd advertisement. The dozens of phone calls she received were obscene and threatening yet, police were unable to prosecute because it was not against the law.
"My daughter was harassed by someone who maliciously posted her private information over the internet," said Kathy Dillingham. "The laws of our state allowed this person to get off the hook and this means when any of our children are on the internet, they are vulnerable too. I want to thank Assemblyman Houston for taking action to protect our children from those who use the internet to harass and harm others."
This bill provides law enforcement officials the tools to go after these crimes. Assembly Bill 919 makes it a misdemeanor to use the internet to intentionally incite a third person to cause fear, harass or harm an individual.
"We need to send a message to people out there who think that it is ok to send out these messages intended to cause harm to others – your actions have consequences and will not be tolerated," said Houston.
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