Trolling Illegal In Tennessee?

[Rydian]

A new Tennessee law makes it a crime to "transmit or display an image" online that is likely to "frighten, intimidate or cause emotional distress" to someone who sees it. Violations can get you almost a year in jail time or up to $2500 in fines.

[...]

Tennessee law already made it a crime to make phone calls, send emails, or otherwise communicate directly with someone in a manner the sender "reasonably should know" would "cause emotional distress" to the recipient. If the communciation lacked a "legitimate purpose," the sender faced jail time.

The new legislation adds images to the list of communications that can trigger criminal liability. But for image postings, the "emotionally distressed" individual need not be the intended recipient. Anyone who sees the image is a potential victim. If a court decides you "should have known" that an image you posted would be upsetting to someone who sees it, you could face months in prison and thousands of dollars in fines.

Source

Some sites are reporting this with fear, but from reading this article and the relation with early laws it looks like this is an effort to combat serious trolling. I'm not talking "Sony copies everything" trolling, I'm talking the kind of trolling where people will mail girls images of mutilated kittens and people go and spam-post images of mutilated penises on forums. Mods everywhere have to deal with this crap, so many users don't even know it happens, but I've seen enough of it, and it can be pretty damn disturbing.

This law looks like an attempt to make that kind of trolling illegal, and I welcome it if it'll be proven that it's just for things that are intended as harmful... but from the wording of the article it seems this latest one is too vague and open for abuse.

 

[Necron]

For a second I thought they were prohibiting putting troll faces in the internet

 

[Bladexdsl]

oops guess i'm going to jail...oh wait i'm not in Tennessee

 

[Cuelhu]

You spin me right round, baby
Right round like a record, baby
Right round round round
You spin me right round, baby
Right round like a record, baby
Right round round round

they should've included shock videos like 2g1c and glass ass.

 

[TLSS_N]

I can't seem to find the resolution anywhere on the site.

edit: I found something close to it here But It's different than the final edition that is here.

 

[Sheimi]

I'm confused by this, but I don't know why I am laughing.

 

[Costello]

we're keeping everyones IP addresses as evidence

so dont you guys start posting mutilated kitten or penises around here

 

[TLSS_N]

we're keeping everyones IP addresses as evidence

so dont you guys start posting mutilated kitten or penises around here

aww man, I might be moving back to Tennessee.... either that or Florida.

 

[Styles420]

we're keeping everyones IP addresses as evidence

so dont you guys start posting mutilated kitten or penises around here

So they're okay as long as they aren't mutilated, right?

 

[Rydian]

So I can't kill monkat?

 

[TLSS_N]

So I can't kill monkat?

Lets put it up for a vote! /just kidding

 

[Phoenix Goddess]

we're keeping everyones IP addresses as evidence

so dont you guys start posting mutilated kitten or penises around here

No one said anything about boobs

QUOTE(Rydian @ Jun 9 2011, 02:17 AM) So I can't kill monkat?

And no one said anything about killing his nipples either

 

[amptor]

There are actually some gore sites out there that I would not even want to post here even if I was still trolling the temps... (I mean... if I was the person who did anyway :3 Costello I plead the fifth)

But seriously, make sure you stay away from gore sites. Goro anime pics are fine but the real thing and descriptions are nothing short of downright scary. And I have seen everything from tubgirl to goatse before that. There are far, far worse photographs to see than those.

 

[Bladexdsl]

every1 in Tennessee better stay out of the EOF than

 

[Fear Zoa]

I live in Maryland I get to trololol all I want!
Mutilated penises ahoy!

 

[cwstjdenobs]

Oh come on. I mean yes there's lots of stuff that isn't right out there, but I can't think of anything that bad that wouldn't be covered by normal obscenity laws. A lot of people need to realise they have a duty to be quietly offended as well as a right to offend. And "frighten, intimidate or cause emotional distress" is a bit broad and a lot of people are very over sensitive about anything aimed at them but fully prepared to be as offensive as possible while trying to intimidate others into silence.

 

[ProtoKun7]

So I can't kill monkat?

Oh, you still can.

Just spoiler the images.

 

[Valwin]

they have no right to do this I do what i want wen i want aslong as is legal and it makes sense

 

[Phoenix Goddess]

they have no right to do this I do what i want wen i want aslong as is legal and it makes sense

I've never heard of trolling that made sense.

 

[DarkShadow96]

LMAO. I am so happy I don't live in Tennessee then.

I live off of trolling ^__^