During the Legislature’s lame-duck session, a bill that had been introduced a year earlier suddenly cleared committee, unanimously passed both houses, and received the governor’s approval in 10 days. The new law, L. 2013, c. 272, creates the crime of cyberharassment: fourth degree if committed by someone under 21 or third degree if committed by someone older. In addition to online threats of “injury or physical harm” or the commission of a crime, it criminalizes the knowing posting or sending of “any lewd, indecent or obscene material to or about a person with the intent to emotionally harm a reasonable person or place a reasonable person in fear of physical or emotional harm to his person.”
While we understand the impulse behind the new law, we believe that it is both overbroad and excessively severe.
