No More Catfishing! Utah Bill Could Criminalize Impersonating Others Online

The House Judiciary Committee voted unanimously on Thursday to take the next steps with a bill that will protect Utah victims who are being impersonated online.

House Bill 239 would "criminalize the impersonation of someone else on the internet to harm, intimidate, or threaten," reported 2 KUTV.

Rep. Karianne Lisonbee, R-Clearfield, who is sponsoring the bill, told the committee, "Online impersonation laws protect the reputation of targeted individuals and deter or prevent online harassment."

Several victims were at the meeting and told the committee about the life-changing effect being impersonated on social media caused them.

The victims told of "inflammatory posts" that caused harm to family members, as well as situations that lead to legal problems that still haven't been resolved. "When someone pretends to be us online with email screen shots, social media, spoofing our phone number, or any other internet outlet, they defraud the individual of their own unique self," said victim Alberta Young.

Young told the committee, "It's very damaging for the reputation of the person because you take a lifetime to get your reputation and then in the click of a button they can ruin it."

Twelve states currently have laws against online impersonation, including Texas and New York.

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