New Zealand have finally managed to ensure that the nice people of their land do not fall prey to Internet trolls. The Harmful Digital Communications Bill was passed, 116 to 5, making it a crime to send harmful messages online or even to share damaging images. The bill came out into the open after reports of serious emotional distress caused by trolling. According to the report “The bill creates a regime under which digital communications causing ‘serious emotional distress’ are subject to an escalating regime that starts as ‘negotiation, mediation or persuasion’ but reaches up to creating the offenses of not complying with an order, and ‘causing harm by posting digital communication.’


The bill will cover posts which appear to be racist, sexist or hint at religious intolerance. Other topics will include derogatory comments that target disability or sexual orientation. There’s also a new offence of increment to suicide, which can lead the accused to serve a three-year jail sentence.

[Via – Bbc]