The internet is a dark, cruel place, filled with trolls and idiots trying to bombard you with their conspiracy theories or trying to one-up each other with racist jokes. But Assemblyman Micah Kellner wants to change all of that. In a new bill, Kellner would not only want to make identity theft a crime, but cyberbullying as well. "Over the past few years, we have seen an increase in a more personal kind of impersonation: the use of Internet anonymity to harass individuals," the bill states. Presumably to prove Kellner's point, one Daily News commenter demonstrated the role of a typical cyberbully: "The Politicians can't handle the thought of Blogger's and Post's, from people without their identity exposed. Orwellian at it's best."
The bill would make "digital impersonation for the purposes of harming, threatening or defrauding another person" a misdemeanor, punishable by up to a year in jail or a $1,000 fine. It's also sponsored in the state Senate by Martin Golden, who said, "It's trying to get a handle on a different kind of cyberbullying. You've got to set some parameters so people understand that you have to live within the norm of society." No word yet on what this means for the fate of the BronxZoosCobra Twitter.
