Subject: Right, I've been doing some research...
Author:
Posted on: 2008-10-22 02:18:00 UTC

The section of the act that you should be pursuing in the US, if you charge over there, is section 223 of title 47 in the Communications Decency Act (amended). In particular, you're looking to charge the bastard/bitch under this subparagraph -

"(a) Prohibited general purposes

Whoever-- (1) in interstate or foreign communications--

(C) makes a telephone call or utilizes a telecommunications device, whether or not conversation or communication ensues, without disclosing his identity and with intent to annoy, abuse, threaten, or harass any person at the called number or who receives the communications;"

(NB: subsection (h)(1)(C) of this act states(C) "in the case of subparagraph (C) of subsection (a)(1), [telecommunications device] includes any device or software that can be used to originate telecommunications or other types of communications that are transmitted, in whole or in part, by the Internet (as such term is defined in section 1104 of the Internet Tax Freedom Act (47 U.S.C. 151 note)).")

In the UK, you're looking at the Malicious Communications Act 1988 (amended 2001), which states the following -

"(1) Any person who sends to another person
(a) a letter, electronic communication or article of any description which conveys
(i) a message which is indecent or grossly offensive
(ii) a threat or
(iii) information which is false and known or believed to be false by the sender or
(b) any article or electronic communication which is, in whole or part, of an indecent or grossly offensive nature,
is guilty of an offence if his purpose, or one of his purposes, in sending it is that it should, so far as falling within paragraph (a) or (b) above, cause distress or anxiety to the recipient or to any other person to whom he intends that it or its contents or nature should be communicated."

(The relevant section is section 1, subsection a, paragraph ii.)

So there you go. If you need any other legal advice from a first year Law student who's not been admitted to the bar in his country yet and thus is in no way an expert on foreign legislation, don't hesitate to ask (on the plus side, it's free advice, heh).

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