A new internet safety bill would ban swatting, doxxing, and sextortion all at once

Rep Katherine Clark (D-MA) has proposed legislation to specifically outlaw internet harassment-based crimes like swatting and devote $24 million a year to stopping them. The Online Safety Modernization Act of 2017 collects several of Clark’s earlier bills, with sponsorship from Rep Susan Brooks (R-IN) and Patrick Meehan (R-PA).

It imposes penalties on several relatively new forms of abuse that may be only indirectly covered under other laws, while funding research and investigation into internet safety issues. The bill includes six sections, all addressing “cybercrimes against individuals” — as opposed to attacks on businesses or government infrastructure, which are a higher priority in most cybercrime policy. Three of the sections outline punishments for “sextorting” sexual imagery from people through blackmail, falsely reporting an emergency to provoke a swat team response, and “doxxing” people by disclosing personal information to cause harm.