KINGSTON – It is now illegal
to conduct any form of cyber-bullying in Ulster County as County Executive
Michael Hein signed the measure into law on Wednesday.
“All of our children are precious and need to know there is help
and protection available,” he said. “As technology continues
to advance at an ever increasing pace, our youth are more and more susceptible
to cyber-bullying with access to the Internet and social medial at their
fingertips,” Hein said. “Cyber-bullying is a serious issue
and can be devastating to the victim and her family, and can lead to anxiety,
depression and in severe cases, suicide.”
Legislature Chairman Kenneth Ronk noted that when he was in school, home
was the one place where a bullied child was safe. “It no longer
just happens face to face. It follows the victim home and can impact every
corner of life.”
He said this new law “is an example of legislation catching up with
technology.”
Hein signs the law onWednesday
Jeff Rindler, executive director of the Hudson Valley LGBTQ Community
Center, said the law “allows us to teach our children that behavior
has consequences and hopefully make our youth think twice before hitting
the ‘send button’.”
A person is guilty of cyber-Bullying of a minor when: with the intent
to harass, abuse, intimidate, torment, or otherwise inflict emotional
harm on a minor, the actor electronically transmits, anonymously or otherwise:
a) information about such minor which has no legitimate communicative
purpose and the actor knows or reasonably should know that the electronic
transmission of the information will cause harm to the minor’s reputation
or the minor’s relationships with the minor’s parents, family
members, friends, peers, employers, and school administrators and faculty;
or
b) private sexual information about the minor; or
c) a photograph or a video, whether real or altered, that depicts any
uncovered portion of the breasts, buttocks, or genitals of the minor and
said photograph or video has no legitimate communicative purpose; or
d. false sexual information about the minor; or
e. information that has no legitimate communicative purpose by appropriating
the minor’s name, likeness, e-mail accounts, websites, blogs for
the purpose of harassing such minor or other minors.
