NY State Legislators Unanimously Pass A Cyberbullying Bill That Can't Be Bothered To Define Cyberbullying

New York state legislators are back at it, attempting to tackle cyberbullying with a "new" law. In reality, this would be the legislature's fifth attempt to enact an anti-cyberbullying law. New York attorney Eric Turkewitz was the first to catch the New York's Senate's self-congratulatory tweet. The tweet touted the bill's unanimous passage (a 56-0 vote). But "widespread support" isn't synonymous with "well-crafted law." No state senator wants to appear "soft" on bullying, so the law passes without anyone bothering to ascertain its effectiveness, much less its constitutionality.

For an anti-bullying law to survive a constitutional challenge, it must be exceedingly well-crafted and narrowly-defined. This bill -- with 56-0 support -- has none of that. From Turkewitz's post on the bill:

Just one teensy little problem seems to have escaped the drafters, however. This "cyber-bullying" that they wish to make a misdemeanor has a flaw. I'm almost embarrassed to mention it, but here goes.

Cyber-bullying doesn't seem to have a definition.

It doesn't. Once you get past the full page of preamble explaining why such a law is needed, you run into this, which defines nothing but who would be protected by the law.

S 12-A. CYBERBULLYING. 1. AS USED IN THIS SECTION, THE FOLLOWING TERMS SHALL HAVE THE FOLLOWING MEANINGS:

A. MINOR SHALL MEAN ANY NATURAL PERSON OR INDIVIDUAL UNDER THE AGE OF EIGHTEEN.
B. PERSON SHALL MEAN ANY NATURAL PERSON OR INDIVIDUAL.

ANY PERSON WHO KNOWINGLY ENGAGES IN A REPEATED COURSE OF CYBERBULLYING OF A MINOR SHALL BE GUILTY OF AN UNCLASSIFIED MISDEMEANOR PUNISHABLE BY A FINE OF NOT MORE THAN ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS, OR BY A PERIOD OF IMPRISONMENT NOT TO EXCEED ONE YEAR, OR BY BOTH SUCH FINE AND IMPRISONMENT.

This act shall take effect immediately.

Up to one year in prison based on a definition apparently to be determined post-arrest by prosecutors or presiding judges. And, apparently, cyberbullying ends once the victim turns 18, so there's no need to extend this dubious protection to adults.

State lawmakers should know better. First, they should know laws attempting to regulate speech must be particular and explicit in their definitions of the prohibited speech. Second, the justification for regulating speech must clearly and heavily outweigh the negative repercussions of the government's act of censorship. All this law has is a statement saying schools are powerless to stop cyberbullying that occurs off campus. That's not nearly enough justification to start handing out misdemeanor charges to mean people.

There have been better-defined bills passed in the state of New York. The county of Albany actually took the trouble to define the terms central to the law.

1. "any act of communicating " by mechanical or electronic means,"

2. "including posting statements on the internet or through a computer or email network,"

- "disseminating embarrassing or sexually explicit photographs;"

- "disseminating private, personal, false or sexual information,"

- "or sending hate mail,"

3. "with no legitimate private, personal, or public purpose,"

4. "with the intent to harass, annoy, threaten, abuse, taunt, intimidate, torment, humiliate, or otherwise inflict significant emotional harm on another person."

This definition is 73 words longer than the state senate's definition of "cyberbullying" and it still couldn't beat a Constitutional challenge. The state's highest court shut down enforcement of the law, noting that its definitions would "criminalize a broad spectrum of speech outside the popular understanding of cyberbullying."

On its fifth attempt to push through anti-cyberbullying legislation, the state senate can't even be bothered to craft a definition narrow enough to be rejected by the state's courts, much less one that would survive even the most cursory challenge.

A bill like this -- one that's seen four previous attempts -- serves one purpose. And it's got nothing to with the children we're always supposed to be thinking about. Here's Scott Greenfield's take:

[T]his law is just a cynical attempt to game the emotions of the electorate, as it has absolutely no chance of passing constitutional muster. The senators didn't even give it a try, and as much as they may not be the sharpest knives in the legislature, even they know that you can't criminalize cyberbullying by defining it as cyberbullying.

The proposed law is electioneering dressed up to look like empathethic legislation. It's multiple campaign efforts being funded by taxpayers who not only pay the salaries of legislators who can't be bothered to do their job properly, but will also be on the hook for legal fees if the bill becomes law and has to be defended in court. When one of these partners in unanimous useless ask for donations during the next election run, point to bullshit like this and tell them you gave at the office.