Senate Passes SB 705, Establishing Criminal Penalty for Fraudulent Social Networking Accounts

Contact Name: Sara Persechino

Phone: (603) 271-3479

Email: Sara.Persechino@leg.state.nh.us

CONCORD - Today, the Senate passed SB 705 to establish a criminal penalty for fraudulent impersonation or duplication of a social networking account.

After the vote, prime sponsor Senator Melanie Levesque (D-Brookline) issued the following statement:

“We are at a point in our history where online presence is taken into consideration as much as in person interaction. When someone utilizes social networking in a way that could be slanderous or damaging through duplication of an account, we are allowing them to essentially embody an individual’s identity without permission. We have seen this earlier this year in our own state politics and the fraudulent accounts were promptly removed. I look forward to SB 705’s continued passage through the House.”

###