AN ACT RELATING TO CRIMINAL OFFENSES -- COMPUTER CRIME (Makes it unnecessary to prove that a person's transmission of electronic communications be for the sole purpose of harassment before being found guilty of cyberstalking or cyberharassment.)

H8058

2026 -- H 8058
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LC005714
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STATE OF RHODE ISLAND
IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY
JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2026
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A N A C T
RELATING TO CRIMINAL OFFENSES -- COMPUTER CRIME

Introduced By:
Representatives Caldwell, McEntee, Casimiro, Speakman, Donovan,
Kislak, Spears, and Dawson

Date Introduced:
February 27, 2026

Referred To:
House Judiciary
It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
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SECTION 1. Section 11-52-4.2 of the General Laws in Chapter 11-52 entitled "Computer
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Crime" is hereby amended to read as follows:
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11-52-4.2. Cyberstalking and cyberharassment prohibited.
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(a) Whoever transmits any communication by computer or other electronic device to any
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person or causes any person to be contacted for the
sole
purpose of harassing that person or his or
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her family is guilty of a misdemeanor, and shall be punished by a fine of not more than five hundred
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dollars ($500), by imprisonment for not more than one year, or both. For the purpose of this section,
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“harassing” means any knowing and willful course of conduct directed at a specific person which
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seriously alarms, annoys, or bothers the person, and which serves no legitimate purpose. The course
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of conduct must be of a kind that would cause a reasonable person to suffer substantial emotional
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distress, or be in fear of bodily injury. “Course of conduct” means a pattern of conduct composed
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of a series of acts over a period of time, evidencing a continuity of purpose. Constitutionally
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protected activity is not included within the meaning of “course of conduct.”
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(b) A second or subsequent conviction under subsection (a) of this section shall be deemed
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a felony punishable by imprisonment for not more than two (2) years, by a fine of not more than
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six thousand dollars ($6,000), or both.

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SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.
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LC005714
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EXPLANATION
BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
OF
A N A C T
RELATING TO CRIMINAL OFFENSES -- COMPUTER CRIME
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This act would make it unnecessary to prove that a person's transmission of electronic
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communications be for the sole purpose of harassment before being found guilty of cyberstalking
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or cyberharassment.
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This act would take effect upon passage.
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LC005714
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