Title
Supporting House Bill 229 which creates a punishable offense for the cyber harassment of a child in Pennsylvania and to raise awareness of the need for accountability for cyber bullying in Philadelphia.
Body
WHEREAS, State Representative Ron Marsico (R- Dauphin County) with 34 co-sponsors, introduced House Bill 229 on January 27, 2015, the bill achieved final passage in the House on February 23, 2015, with a 193-to-5 vote. The bill now goes to the Senate; and
WHEREAS, The legislation amends the Harassment Statute, Section 2709 of the Crimes Code adding a subsection dealing with cyber harassment of a child. Cyber harassment of a child by an adult becomes a third-degree misdemeanor charge, while a juvenile offender would be under the jurisdiction of juvenile court; and
WHEREAS, As described in HB 229, a person commits the crime of cyber harassment of a child when communication intending to harass, annoy, or alarm is done through electronic social media and disparages the child's health, physical characteristics, sexuality, sexual activity or mental or physical health condition, produces substantial emotional distress, or threatens harm; and
WHEREAS, The legislation would allow intervention by law enforcement, and if appropriate, the case could be referred to juvenile court and the juvenile offender could be placed in an educational program on the consequences of cyber harassment. An adult who engages in such conduct would be prosecuted in court in lieu of a summary citation, reflecting the seriousness of this form of child abuse; and
WHEREAS, With the rapidly increasing number of children using social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, the ability for other children or even adults to harass a child by repeatedly messaging or spreading seriously harmful comments through social media has become increasingly widespread; and
WHEREAS, Statistics released by DoSomething.org indicate that over 80% of teens regularly ...
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