""It implicitly suggests that threats online are no different [than threats made via other interstate communication methods]," Danielle Citron, a law professor at the University of Maryland who has studied online harassment since 2007, told Fast Company. "The Court was invited to address that question, and declined." By not drawing a distinction between threats made online and threats made in other ways, the court implied that both should be handled the same way.
All these technicalities aside, "There are tons of laws that say [online harassment] is illegal," says Citron. "We already have those laws on the books."
But those laws aren’t being frequently enforced. "Frankly, police at the local level have a very hard time figuring out how to investigate it," Citron says. "And they don’t want to say they don’t know.""
- Date Published:06/03/2015
- Original Publication:Fast Company