The 2017 Online Safety Modernization Act is a proposed bill which would make Swatting, Doxing, revenge porn, and other forms of online harassment illegal, and with harsher penalties.

(a) CRIMINAL VIOLATION.—Whoever uses the mail or any facility or means of interstate or foreign commerce, to knowingly publish a person’s personally identifiable information—

(1) with the intent to threaten, intimidate, or harass any person, incite or facilitate the commission of a crime of violence against any person, or place any person in reasonable fear of death or serious bodily injury; or

(2) with the intent that the information will be used to threaten, intimidate, or harass any person, incite or facilitate the commission of a crime of violence against any person, or place any person in reasonable fear of death or serious bodily injury, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 5 years, or both.

While the 2017 Online Safety Modernization Act sounds amazing, here is a simple case where someone could unintentionally  be in violation of the act. According to Section III of the bill (Found on page 33) releasing any form of information on one’s gender, or sexuality would also be illegal. For instance if you outed someone for being male/female, or  if they fall into the LGBTQ community, you could be in violation of the 2017 Online Safety Modernization Act if that person is harassed by result of your actions, even if that was not your intent. This of course doesn’t mean that you will go to jail (you could but probably not), but it could mean a lengthy court process and lawyer fees to defend yourself.

(C) any other sensitive private information that is linked or linkable to a specific identifiable individual, such as gender identity, sexual orientation, or any sexually intimate visual depiction.

online-safety-modernization-act

Let me know what you think in the comments below. 🙂