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| THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA |
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| HOUSE BILL |
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| INTRODUCED BY WATSON, PETRI, MARSICO, BAKER, BOYD, D. COSTA, CREIGHTON, ELLIS, FLECK, GEIST, GILLESPIE, GINGRICH, GROVE, HARPER, HARRIS, HELM, HESS, KNOWLES, MAJOR, MANN, O'NEILL, PEIFER, PICKETT, PRESTON, READSHAW, SONNEY, STURLA, SWANGER, TAYLOR, TRUITT, VULAKOVICH AND HICKERNELL, MARCH 13, 2012 |
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| REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY, MARCH 13, 2012 |
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| AN ACT |
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1 | Amending Title 18 (Crimes and Offenses) of the Pennsylvania |
2 | Consolidated Statutes, defining the offense of online |
3 | impersonation; and prescribing a penalty. |
4 | The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania |
5 | hereby enacts as follows: |
6 | Section 1. Title 18 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated |
7 | Statutes is amended by adding a section to read: |
8 | § 4121. Online impersonation. |
9 | (a) Offense defined.--A person commits the offense of online |
10 | impersonation if he uses the name, persona or identifying |
11 | information of another person to do any of the following without |
12 | obtaining the other person's consent and with the intent to |
13 | deceive, harm, defraud, intimidate or threaten any person: |
14 | (1) create a web page; |
15 | (2) post one or more messages on a commercial social |
16 | networking site; or |
17 | (3) send an electronic mail, instant message, text |
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1 | message or similar communication. |
2 | (b) Grading.--An offense under this section constitutes a |
3 | misdemeanor of the third degree. Each violation constitutes a |
4 | separate offense. |
5 | (c) Nonapplicability.--The provisions of this section shall |
6 | not be applicable to law enforcement officers acting in the |
7 | course and legitimate scope of their employment. |
8 | (d) Definitions.--As used in this section, the following |
9 | words and phrases shall have the meanings given to them in this |
10 | subsection unless the context clearly indicates otherwise: |
11 | "Commercial social networking site." A business, |
12 | organization or other similar entity that operates an Internet |
13 | website and permits persons to become registered users for the |
14 | purpose of establishing personal relationships with other users |
15 | through direct or real-time communication with other users or |
16 | the creation of web pages or profiles available to the public or |
17 | to other users. The term does not include an electronic mail |
18 | program or a message board program. |
19 | "Identifying information." Any document, photographic, |
20 | pictorial or computer image of another person or any fact used |
21 | to establish identity, including, but not limited to, a name, |
22 | birth date, Social Security number, driver's license number, |
23 | nondriver governmental identification number, telephone number, |
24 | checking account number, savings account number, student |
25 | identification number, employee or payroll number or electronic |
26 | signature. |
27 | Section 2. This act shall take effect in 60 days. |
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