More and more of our world takes place in an online space, and many people use the internet to work, socialize, and play. However, law enforcement has not caught up with this reality, and an unacceptable level of threats, stalking, and abuse occurs online. This issue disproportionately impacts women and LGBTQ people, especially those of color. We need investigation of direct online rape and death threats.
Cyber abuse laws are in their infancy, but where they do exist, local police forces often fail to enforce them because of lack of training, questions of jurisdiction or, sadly, perceptions of online threats as not serious. We want the FBI to create a unit that will investigate and prosecute online threats reported by US residents, and we want a streamlined reporting process.