Lawmakers playing catch-up to new technologies

[ MARCH 17, 2010 - OKLAHOMA CITY, OK ] – Rapid changes in technology have forced state lawmakers to wrestle with issues unimagined just a few years ago, but the end result, supporters say, could be better protection for families who use social media and for the victims of violent crime.

With more than 250 million residents using social media Web sites such as Facebook and the introduction of smart-phone technology, legislation passed this week by the Oklahoma Senate and the House of Representatives could change the way the state probates social media and networking information and offer better protection to victims of violent crime.

In the Senate, a bill written by state Sen. Debbe Leftwich, D-Oklahoma City, would allow victims of domestic violence to track their abusers through global positioning satellite technology.

The measure – Senate Bill 2022 – expands current law by enabling victims to see exactly where their abusers are via GPS, Leftwich said.

“SB 2022 will empower victims of domestic violence by giving them access to that same information,” she said. “They can get online and see exactly where their abuser is in real time. Victims can also obtain an electronic device that will warn them if their abuser approaches within a certain distance.”

Two years ago, Leftwich authored legislation allowing court-ordered GPS tracking of domestic abusers. That measure allows enforcement to access an abuser’s location and determine if they are in violation of any court orders.

Victim’s rights advocates say the legislation could help some in some extreme cases of domestic violence and sexual assault.

“In some situations, I think it could really be a benefit,” said Marcia Smith, executive director of the Oklahoma Coalition Against Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault. “Oklahoma is ninth in the nation for women murdered by men in single incidents. There are some more extreme cases that I believe this bill could really help save victims’ lives.”

Many times, Smith said, an offender who is the subject of a protective order never bothers the victim again, but other times the victims are stalked, harassed or assaulted.

“This could help by keeping the victim informed,” she said. “It’s about peace of mind.”

The measure is similar to an existing state law that allows law enforcement officials to use e-mail and text messages to notify the victims of violent crimes about any change in the status of their abuser.

That program – known as Victims Information and Notification Everyday, or VINE – provides up-to-date information to the victims of violent crime, said Susan Krug, chief of the victim’s services unit for Attorney General Drew Edmondson’s office.

“The basic system is where a victim can register to be notified to in change of a custody status of an offender,” Krug said. “You can register to be notified (if) the offender moves, escapes or dies. That way if you go to the grocery store, there’s not a surprise.”

Krug said the program was developed as the result of an incident in Kentucky. There, she said, a woman thought her estranged boyfriend was in jail when he wasn’t. The man later found the woman at a grocery store, then raped and killed her in the parking lot.

“Anyone can register to be notified,” Krug said. “The program interfaces with the county sheriff’s booking management system and with the Department of Corrections.”

Currently, 32,832 residents have signed up for the e-mail notification program since it was founded in the fall of 2006. During that same time, 32,704 e-mail notifications have been sent.

It’s that type of technology, Leftwich said, that can be used to better protect victims of crime.

“Overwhelmingly, the victims of domestic violence are women and children who are stalked and intimidated by their abuser,” she said. “A protective order from a court is a piece of paper that does nothing to actually prevent future attacks – but if the victim can see where her abuser is and avoid that location, or alert law enforcement if necessary, then I believe we can give greater protection to victims of domestic violence.”

In the House of Representatives, a different proposal would give family members or the executors of an estate the power to access, administer or terminate the online social media accounts of deceased Oklahomans.

Under House Bill 2800, an executor of an estate would have the legal authority to contact social networking sites, micro-blogging or short message service Web sites, and any e-mail service Web site – such as Twitter or Facebook – to either delete the accounts or turn the deceased person’s account into a memorial account.

The goal, the bill’s author said, is to provide a legal way for Oklahomans to address social networking sites when a person dies and to generate a dialogue about the issue.

“When a person dies, someone needs to have legal access to their accounts to wrap up any unfinished business, close out the account if necessary or carry out specific instructions the deceased left in their will,” state Rep. Ryan Kiesel, D-Seminole.

If a person’s online and digital information isn’t accounted for, he said, the person’s estate could become the victim of identity theft or see legal problems over intellectual property rights.

“Digital photo albums and e-mails are increasingly replacing their physical counterparts, and I encourage Oklahomans to think carefully about what they want to happen to these items when they pass away,” Kiesel said.

Legal experts say the measure could help the executors of an estate where social networking Web sites were used.

“It will be helpful to try and wrap up the assets of the estate,” said Eric Johnson, a director at Phillips Murrah, an Oklahoma City law firm.

“My first thought is the potential for identity theft,” he said “There were 10 million cases of reported identify theft. And without the ability to wrap up the content of a social networking site or the post of a late user, you could be looking at the potential for more identity theft.”

Technology, Johnson said, is moving much faster than state laws.

Kiesel agreed. He said lawmakers need to keep pace with changing technology because many times, those changes create new issues.

In 2010, we’re seeing a lot of intellectual property issues caused by social network sites,” he said. “We’re working to address things now that a lot of people aren’t thinking about.”

Senate Bill 2022 received a 45-0 vote in the Senate and is set to be heard in the House of Representatives, while House Bill 2800 was approved in the House by a 74-0 vote and is currently awaiting action in the state Senate.