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Federal Ruling Blocks Washington Cyberstalking Law Over Speech Rights

Calendar Feb 26, 2019 • User Avatar Brittany Day
1 min read
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Topics Covered

legislation free speech First Amendment cyberstalking law federal ruling

Washington was one of the first states to fightcyberstalkingthrough legislation, but it may have to rethink its approach. A federal judge has blocked the state's 2004 law afterrulingthat a key provision violated First Amendment protections for free speech due to vague terms.

Its prohibitions against speech meant to "harass, intimidate, torment or embarrass" weren't clearly defined, according to the judge, and effectively criminalized a "large range" of language guarded under the Constitution. You could theoretically face legal action just by criticizing a public figure.

The link for this article located at Engadget is no longer available.