Legislature(2003 - 2004)
03/12/2003 01:31 PM Senate JUD
| Audio | Topic |
|---|
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
HB 12-HARASSMENT BY ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION
REPRESENTATIVE KEVIN MEYER introduced HB 12 saying it lists
electronic communication as a method of harassment. Current
statutes do not allow for electronic communication as a means of
harassment, which has been a problem for Alaska law enforcement
agencies. With the low cost and ease of access to computers,
more and more harassment is being done via the computer and
electronic communication. An individual who may not want to
confront a person personally or on the telephone may feel very
comfortable doing it via email. In fact some people are so good
on computers they can program their computer to automatically
send harassing messages at regular intervals 24 hours a day, 7
days a week.
Online harassment or harassment in general really is not a
serious crime but it often is a prelude to more serious crimes
so the sooner the perpetrator can be caught the better. It is a
relatively new problem for Alaska's law enforcement agencies yet
it is growing as more people get access to computers. Law
enforcement has been catching people who are harassing via the
Internet, but there is no statute to prosecute the perpetrators.
Law enforcement personnel approached him with their frustration
last summer and that is why the bill is before the committee.
The bill evolved relatively quickly through the House with a
couple of amendments. House Judiciary felt harassment by use of
electronic communication was too difficult to define in statute
so they added a letter of intent as to what it is and kept the
definition fairly broad so it would be able to evolve as
electronic communication evolves.
The second amendment was made on the floor of the House of
Representatives by the Minority Leader. That amendment adds the
words "or sexual contact" on page 1, line 14. There was quite a
bit of debate on the issue. Representative Meyer felt that, on
page 1, line 12 and 13, that says "an obscene electronic
communication" would cover "sexual contact." There are quite a
few lawyers in the House and they each pulled out their
different definition of obscene. They decided it would be
covered if the words "sexual contact" were included. The
addition does not change the bill and if anything it makes the
bill stronger so the amendment was accepted.
SENATOR OGAN moved CSHB 12(JUD) am \Q.A as the bill before the
committee. There being no objection, it was so ordered.
SENATOR THERRIAULT said he was a little leery of amendments made
on the floor. He asked if Representative Meyer received any
kind of memo from the drafters cautioning him on the use of the
wording.
REPRESENTATIVE MEYER conferred with his staff and reported they
were in contact with the drafter and there was no problem with
the amendment.
SENATOR OGAN thought the issue of obscene electronic
communication is one with which all parents grapple. He has
always been concerned about unsolicited obscene material because
everybody who has been on a computer has unwittingly visited
some obscene site. He is concerned this is a snare that is used
by pornographers to snare children into antisocial behavior that
is destructive to their moral fiber. He asked if this was a
vehicle by which they might be able to address that problem.
REPRESENTATIVE MEYER informed the committee HB 82 is currently
scheduled with the Labor and Commerce Committee and deals
specifically with unsolicited sexual explicit material. It is
going to make the material illegal unless the subject line
contains adult material. That way children will know not to
open the email or better yet the computer can be set to filter
out the word adult so the children will not receive that type of
material. HB 12 deals strictly with harassment and putting
electronic communication as a means of harassment in statute.
When people are sending out emails saying, "I want to kill you"
or threatening things like that, Alaskan law enforcement
agencies can do something about it. Right now they cannot.
SERGEANT CURT HARRIS, Alaska State Troopers, said he did not
have any specific testimony, but was available for questions.
He said the Alaska State Troopers are supportive of the
legislation.
SENATOR OGAN asked if the Alaska State Troopers have people with
the training to specialize in electronic crimes with the ability
to detect these crimes and trace the origins.
SERGEANT HARRIS answered yes. The Alaska State Troopers address
electronic crimes through their white-collar crime section. It
is a portion of the Criminal Investigation Bureau. He obtained
that training and has experience in that area. There are two
other investigators in the unit that are coming up to speed with
that capability.
SENATOR THERRIAULT moved CSHB 12(JUD) am from committee with
individual recommendations and attached zero fiscal notes.
There being no objection, it was so ordered.
SENATOR ELLIS noted he was also a sponsor of legislation on
unsolicited spam email of various kinds. Spam email clogs up
small businesses and private parties to the tune of billions of
dollars a year. It may be something the committee also wants to
consider.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|