Trolling Will Soon Be Illegal In Arizona


One of the Internet’s basic tenets — the right to be as much of a myopic, infantile asshat as humanly possible — is currently under attack in Arizona. A sweeping update to the state’s telecommunications harrasment bill could make naughty, angry words a class 1 misdemeanour — or worse.

Arizona House Bill 2549 passed both legislative houses last Thursday and is now awaiting approval from Arizona’s governor Brewer. The statute states that,

“It is unlawful for any person, with intent to terrify, intimidate, threaten, harass, annoy or offend, to use a ANY ELECTRONIC OR DIGITAL DEVICE and use any obscene, lewd or profane language or suggest any lewd or lascivious act, or threaten to inflict physical harm to the person or property of any person.”

If the electronic devices and means are employed to stalk a victim, the penalty bumps up to a class 3 felony.

Opponents of the bill argue that the wording is overly broad and could easily be interpreted to include not just one-on-one communications but public forums like 4Chan, Reddit, and anywhere else that allows commenting. It could also have a chilling effect on free speech by prohibiting shocking or “profane” language online. And since the bill stipulates that the offence only has to occur on Arizona soil, that basically puts the entire Internet on notice.

Proponents of the bill argue that the steps are necessary to prevent online bullying. Despite the public outcry, the bill has seen very little resistance from elected officials. However, given how well Arizona’s other recent, short-lived, and generally draconian propositions — -including its racial profiling, anti-gay adoption, and anti-immigration bills — -have fared, House Bill 2549 might not be a law for long, assuming Governor Brewer even signs it. [Arizona State House of Reps via CBLDF]


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