Published: Tuesday, June 26, 2012, 1:33 p.m.
Rhode Island repeals online-lying law
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The Buzz: Don’t feed the ducks
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PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- It may be dastardly, but it's no longer a crime in Rhode Island to go online and lie.
State lawmakers voted this month to repeal an obscure 1989 law that made fibbing on the Internet a misdemeanor punishable by fines of up to $500 and up to a year in prison.
The law was hardly ever enforced, but it technically made it illegal to fudge your age on a dating site, to text someone claiming to be someplace you aren't or to include a white lie in an email.
State Rep. Chris Blazejewski (blah-zeh-JOO'-skee) pushed to repeal the law, arguing it was unconstitutional.
Blazejewski says that while lies may make you a scoundrel, they shouldn't make you a criminal unless you're trying to commit fraud or some other offense.
State lawmakers voted this month to repeal an obscure 1989 law that made fibbing on the Internet a misdemeanor punishable by fines of up to $500 and up to a year in prison.
The law was hardly ever enforced, but it technically made it illegal to fudge your age on a dating site, to text someone claiming to be someplace you aren't or to include a white lie in an email.
State Rep. Chris Blazejewski (blah-zeh-JOO'-skee) pushed to repeal the law, arguing it was unconstitutional.
Blazejewski says that while lies may make you a scoundrel, they shouldn't make you a criminal unless you're trying to commit fraud or some other offense.
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