California has come up with a law that is simple and brilliant. Although it’s a California law, every parent from coast to coast should know about it.
This law makes it a crime to set up an online account impersonating someone else for the purpose of causing harm. In other words, if someone pretends to be you — or your child — online and then starts spreading rumors or damaging information, they could go to jail.
Although the law is apparently only a paragraph, it has big potential to help. Up until now, there was very little someone could do if they were at the receiving end of harmful impersonation. That’s hard enough for adults, but can you imagine being a teen and trying to cope with someone pretending to be you and then spreading poison?
I’m hoping that the remaining 49 states jump on board but it’s key that California is the first. As Hemu Nigam, Internet Security Specialist, explains in the interview, most of the internet companies are based in California so there’s a better chance that no matter where the internet crime happens, it could possibly be prosecuted. (If I understand this correctly, when information passes through servers based in California, technically it could be considered under the California law.)
This is going in the right direction to protect all of us, especially for “that kid at home.” Come on New York, Indiana, Florida, Colorado………………………..
