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FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) – Weeks after a Kentucky high school student says he was wrongly vilified for a Native American protest, state lawmakers on Wednesday advanced to a bill that would make it a crime with the intent to harass, abuse or frighten.
A Kentucky state Senate committee approved a bill to make "doxing" anyone under 18 a crime. If the bill becomes law, it would make it a misdemeanor to publish a personal information – such as a home address or the school they expect – to threaten them.
The proposal comes from the social media companies that have struggled to fight harmful content posted on their digital platforms that have real-world consequences.
"There are no brakes on Twitter," said Todd McMurtry, an attorney for 16-year-old Nick Sandmann, whose interaction with Native American Nathan Phillips protested went viral in January. "Twitter itself has the ability to monitor its own activity. They can not help but make it so easy that they do not think it's going to be too much. "
But free speech advocates worry the proposal goes too far. Three Democrats voted against the bill, quoting free speech concerns. Rebecca Ballard DiLoreto, a lobbyist for the Kentucky Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, said the bill was too broad and would have unintended consequences. She noted the state of terrorism and the threat of terrorism.
"When I first read (the bill), what I thought about was when I visited China and when I visited China and how careful I was when I never got it on the internet in those countries," DiLoreto said. "What you are going to matter, and the language you use should matter. And you should want to pass laws that are constitutional and specific. "
Twitter spokeswoman Katie Rosborough said posting or posting private someone's private information without their consent to the company's rules, adding "we're working to make it easier for users to report this type of behavior."
The bill still has to go to the Senate and the House of Representatives and it's unclear if it has the necessary support. After Wednesday, lawmakers will have just five bills before they adjourn for the year.
The bill is responding to an incident in January when Sandmann, a student at Covington Catholic High School in northern Kentucky, was the subject of social criticism comments after his visit to Washington.
The first videos to emerge showed a smiling Sandmann wearing a red "Make America Great Again" hat standing close to Phillips, who was beating a drum. Sandmann was harassing Phillips and used it to the political discourse in this country. But interpretations later, and those others said it was Phillips who confronted them while they were waiting for a bus.
Various videos of the incident were viewed, and soon photos of Sandmann, along with information about what he was attending, was circulating online. Wednesday, Sandman's father, Ted, told lawmakers his son was the "victim of the most sensational twitter attack on a minor child in the history of the internet."
"My family and I are living in a nightmare," Ted Sandmann told reporters following his testimony. "To think that people are taking the freedom of speech and turning it into speech is not right."
As an example, Sandmann pointed to CNN host Reza Aslan, who tweeted a photo of Sandmann with the comment: "Honest question. Have you ever seen more of this kid's? "
The Sandmann family has already sued The Washington Post for $ 250 million, accusing the newspaper of falsely labeling Nick Sandman as a racist. Sandmann's attorneys are threatening legal action against several other media outlets, including The Associated Press. Sandmann told lawmakers on Wednesday the family is still far away from "restoring my son's reputation."
"My son is going to go through the rest of his life with a target on his back," Ted Sandmann said. "He's always going to be looking over his shoulder. Because what has happened has not been erased. "
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