Catfishing, a form of cyberbullying, can have dangerously negative effects on an individual. In this manner, catfishing can be seen as a sociopathic disorder.? ? ?Have you ever been catf

SIGNS THAT YOU MIGHT BE BEING CATFISHED 

It can be difficult to spot a catfish. Although the signs you might be getting catfished can be different for each situation, some of the most common signs that you could have fallen victim to catfishing include:

· They don’t have many friends or images on their social media accounts – When someone is catfishing, they will have to take the photos they choose to use from another source. Most commonly, they will take images from someone else’s social media account. Because the images are taken from an authentic source, catfishers have no control over when or what is posted so will only have access to a few images at a time – when the ‘real’ person shares images themselves. They might also have very few friends and show little or no interaction with them online.

· They never want to video call – Someone who is catfishing, will not want to video call if they are using another person’s identity. In order to avoid video chatting, catfishers make up excuses. They might say their webcam is broken or they’re always too busy.

· They don’t want to meet up – For obvious reasons, catfishers will never want to meet up. To avoid this, some catfishers will agree to meet up with you (to seem more authentic) only to back out at the last moment.

· If they don’t use Snapchat – It sounds strange but Snapchat has now become so popular that if somebody is active on various social media platforms but doesn’t use Snapchat, this could be suspicious. Snapchat is based on sharing ‘live’ selfies – making it impossible to use images taken from other people’s accounts. If you are being catfished, they might say they don’t use Snapchat or add you on it and then refuse to send you a photo of themselves.

Although most people feel confident that they would know if they were communicating with a completely fabricated identity, it is also very easy to assume after seeing a few images and some conversation that you are communicating with exactly who you are looking at in the images! It is important to remember that although many of the signs that you are being catfished listed above can be indicative of something sinister – they can also be completely innocent too.

Legal Considerations of Catfishing

Some states, including California and Louisiana, have passed legislation in recent years to address online impersonations. New York, Pennsylvania, and others have

bills pending. Texas emerged as one of those states with a law on the books. The 2009 legislation is found in the Texas Penal Code under Title 7 (Offenses Against Property), Chapter 33 (Computer Crimes), which discusses online impersonations. The law considers it a felony if a name or persona of a third party is used “with the intent to harm, defraud, intimidate, or threaten any person.” It would be a misdemeanor to send a mediated message referencing a name or other identifying information belonging to a third party without consent, with the intent to mislead or defraud. Early in 2016, a state judge found Texas Penal Code § 33.07 to be overly broad and unconstitutional in a case involving a man arrested for publishing compromising photographs of his ex-wife on a social media platform (Witherspoon, 2016).

As online impersonations are a relatively new concept legally speaking, there are not always specific laws in place. Furthermore, with Section 33.07 of the Texas Penal Code under fire, it would be wise to consider whether existing laws, on either a state or federal level, might be positioned to provide relief. Each case is different, and the specific laws as written varying by jurisdiction, some of these legal theories might be seen as applying in the general sense.

Legal Claims for Online Impersonation

Fraud:  Fraud claims are premised on the fact that a person knowingly materially represented himself or herself, and a third party then relied on this misrepresentation (Podgor, 1999). The first individual, knowing it was a false representation, intended a third party to rely on it. Some manner of injury to the second or third party must be endured. Material misrepresentation might not be difficult to demonstrate in a relationship created by online impersonation, but the injury may be more difficult to prove. Legal success might be predicated on whether the impersonation was used to obtain money or other items of credit from the victim.

Emotional Distress:  If there was no financial or other valuable gain involved, a victim may consider a claim for intentional infliction of emotional distress. Generally, the victim must demonstrate that the impersonator’s behavior resulted in more than severe emotional distress in the victim. That would require showing psychological damage owing to the impersonator’s conduct. Simply following a player with an attractive avatar likely would not meet this condition.

Misappropriation of Likeness:   The matter of misappropriation of likeness. The "cute girl or boy” whose picture (or other social media content) is being used may conceivably have a potential claim as an injury. The  Digital Media Law Project  suggests that, typically, this would require demonstrating that a protected attribute, such as a name or a likeness, has been used (“Using the Name,” 2014). The second test would involve demonstrating the likeness was used for commercial or exploitive purposes. The third test is consent: a plaintiff must demonstrate that she or he did not give permission for the use.

Invasion of Privacy.  Finally, another legal theory that might be applied would be that of invasion of privacy. Judicially, privacy is a freedom from the unwarranted appropriation or exploitation of one’s personality, the publicizing of one’s private affairs, or the wrongful intrusion into one’s private activities in such manner as to outrage or cause mental suffering, shame, or humiliation.

ASSIGNMENT

Catfishing, a form of cyberbullying, can have dangerously negative effects on an individual. In this manner, catfishing can be seen as a sociopathic disorder. 

· Have you ever been catfished?

· In a society where cyber-meeting is the new normal, how do you feel catfishing impacts online meeting networks?

· Briefly discuss three (3) ways in which you feel catfishing can be damaging to: 

· society

· an individual's self-esteem

· the future of online/app dating

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