New York Supreme Court Rules in Online Criminal Impersonation and Identity Theft Case

New York Supreme Court Rules in Online Criminal Impersonation and Identity Theft Case

If you have ever seen the TV show “Catfish” on MTV, you know the damage that impersonation on the Internet can cause.

For those who aren’t familiar with the show, “Catfish” tells the stories of individuals who have created relationships with others solely online, through the Internet – without realizing that the other person was masquerading under a fake name, often using stolen photos, in a bid to hide their true identities.

A common theme in “Catfish” is the damage and harm that can be done to one’s reputation through misrepresentation and impersonation. Harmful things can be said that are believed under false auspices, and the ramifications are often real to the offended.

The Supreme Court of New York State recently issued a ruling on an impersonation and forgery case dating back to 2006, in which a professor impersonated several rival professors in a long series of Internet message board postings and emails, attempting to discredit their position on a controversial academic topic.

The professor in question, Raphael Golb, was convicted on 30 of 31 counts, including two felony charges, of criminal impersonation, identity theft and aggravated harassment. The key to upholding these convictions was the perceived damage caused by Golb’s actions to the reputations of the other rival professors. Said the court:

“Many people, particularly with a career in academic, as relevant to this case, value their reputations at least as much as their property, and we believe the [New York State] Legislature intended that the scope of the statute be broad enough to capture acts intended to cause injury to reputation.”

What about the First Amendment’s protection of free speech? The court found that there was no obvious intent to provide parody, which is often a key defense against libel. In any case, libel is not protected by the First Amendment, and if damage to one’s reputation is viewed as a substantial enough injury, then under New York state law, that constitutes guilt.

The Internet is often viewed as a free-wheeling, “Wild West” environment for free speech. But if precedent holds, your reputation can be afforded protections under the law from what would be considered libelous speech. Impersonating someone else online is all too easy, but there may be defenses against the real damage that can be wrought as the result of deliberate misrepresentation and fraud.