New Online “Bullying” Laws Hit Iowa

New laws are being seen in Iowa to keep kids safe online. Just recently the FBI took to X (formerly Twitter) To warn about this growing issue. While anyone can be a target, the FBI went into deeper detail on people who are targeted more often. Stating,

especially LGBTQ+ youth, racial minorities, and those who struggle with a variety of mental health issues, such as depression and suicidal ideation

What Is Swatting And It's Affect In Iowa?

In short, Swatting is using info gathered about you to make a fake police call claiming something bad is happening at the location you are currently at. The full answer is as follows,

Swatting is a criminal harassment act of deceiving an emergency service (via such means as hoaxing an emergency services dispatcher) into sending a police or emergency service response team to another person's address. This is triggered by false reporting of a serious law enforcement emergency, such as a bomb threat, murder, hostage situation, or a false report of a mental health emergency, such as reporting that a person is allegedly suicidal or homicidal and may or may not be armed, among other things

The New Iowa Laws In 2024

In short, Iowa will now see harsher penalties to swatting call charges. Ir's a big jump up too. KCCI went on to report,

Now, charges for swatting are bumped from a misdemeanor to a Class D Felony, which could come with up to five years in prison. If somebody is injured or even killed as a result of a swatting call, then that becomes a Class C Felony with a prison sentence of up to 10 years.

This is an effort to stomp out a crime that is still on the rise in America. Marion Police Officer Tom Daubs said,

”Odds are pretty good they’re going to at least track you down ... and It’s not a misdemeanor anymore, it’s a felony,”

While this is seen as "online bullying" it is clearly much worse than just some hurtful jokes. These kind of actions need to be stopped. Stay safe everyone!