Fake Profiles On Facebook Becomes A Crime In California In 2011

Well it seems California has once again came out with a new law, this one is funny but good. Basically they are saying that you cant pretend to be someone else on the web and Facebook. 


LMAO, Pretending not to be something or someone coming from the state of plastic people, fake green grass, the land of movie magic where they take you to make believe worlds. Just kinda funny and ironic isnt it.


But in reality this is a pretty good law and will help to protect alot of people, especially our children who fall prey to alot of this. While it is a small step in safe guarding the public from some of the unscrupulous individuals that prey on the innocent and naive, it is a necessary one.  


The law prohibits impersonating anyone online with the objective of harming, intimidating, threatening or defrauding. Such acts become misdemeanors punishable by a fine up to $1000 and a year in jail and goes into effect this Saturday and the law effective Saturday qualifies that the person who is impersonated has to be real and credible. That means it is still legal to have profiles that are parodies or fictional characters.


The author of the law, California Democratic state Senator Joe Simitian, was quoted in an article in the San Jose Mercury News saying:

As a Silicon Valley legislator, I’m nothing but enthusiastic about technology. But the question is, is the technology used wisely and appropriately? This is one area where some constraint appeared necessary… The goal here really is to try to change behavior…

So what does this mean on Facebook, well it helps users that are impersonated in the state of California have some kind of legal recourse to go after the said offenders. 

It will unfortunately open up a whole new can of worms, as the amount of lawsuits for damages due to this will surely go up as a result of this new law. This will surely overburden &  the overworked court system in California.

I wouldn't be surprised to see other states come up with similar laws to help safeguard their citizens. Some might be tougher than others but they will come you can bet on it. While it may not seem too tough of a law, it lays the groundwork for other legislation to come along that will do more. Time will tell.

For Facebook users be aware that if you are in California and you do have a fake profile you might be at risk if you are reported and your information is forwarded to the authorities. 

You will be made an example because it is good press for the law & state but most importantly Facebook as it shows they are willing to safeguard their users.  

So you have been warned and be safe out their.