Cyberbullying a minor is a crime in West Virginia

Another state has criminalized online bullying of a minor (a victim under age 18). The West Virginia legislature passed House Bill 2655 in March, 2018 making an act of cyberbullying a minor a crime punishable by jail time. The law bans online harassment, threats, and intimidation of anyone under 18. Anyone convicted of cyberbullying a minor faces a $500 dollar fine and up to one year in jail.*

A bullycide three years ago in Maryland prompted recent legislation in West Virginia. 15 year-old Grace McComas committed suicide after she endured a long stretch of cyberbullying. Her family helped her document these incidents, but that wasn’t enough to stop the bullying. Tragically, Grace took her own life on Easter Sunday of 2012. Grace’s death sparked outrage in her community. A social media movement, #blue4grace, went viral, and people around the country mourned her passing. In 2014, Maryland — Grace’s home state — passed a bill that criminalized cyberbullying called “Grace’s Law.” Another version of the law, dubbed “Grace’s Law 2.0” was passed and signed into law in April, 2019. It prohibits a single act of cyberbullying including harassing messages to anyone with an intent to induce a minor to commit suicide. Violation of the new law carries a sentence of three to ten years in prison and a $10,000 fine.**

West Virginia followed suit in 2018 with their version of Grace’s Law (HB 2655). In West Virginia, it is “unlawful for a person to use a computer or computer network to cause a minor or another person to reasonably fear for the safety of the minor.” Violators of Grace’s Law face up to a $500 fine, as well as up to one year in prison. The first offense is a misdemeanor, but if there is a second offense, it becomes a felony.

The West Virginia law reads in part:

(a) It is unlawful for a person to knowingly and intentionally use a computer or computer network, as defined in §61-3C-3, to:
(1) To engage in conduct with the intent to harass, intimidate, or bully a minor, including by:
(A) Building a fake profile or website for a minor;
(B) Posing as a minor or imitating a minor in:
(i) An electronic chat room;
(ii) An electronic mail message;
(iii) An instant message;
(iv) A social media platform; or
(C) Repeatedly following the minor online or into an electronic chat room;
(D) Posting or disseminating or encouraging others to post or disseminate private, personal, or sexual information pertaining to the minor on the Internet; or
(E) Posting obscene material, as defined in §61-3C-14a, in a real or doctored image of the minor on the Internet;

*West Virginia Code 61-3C-14C effective June 8, 2018

**Judge Tom expects this stricter law will be challenged in court due to its lack of specificity and due process issues under the Fourteenth Amendment.

http://www.wvlegislature.gov/Bill_Text_HTML/2018_SESSIONS/RS/bills/HB2655%20SUB%20ENR.pdf