Currently -- can a person be prosecuted for impersonating another person and posting inflammatory comments about that person on-line?  YES you can - in NJ.

A New Jersey woman has been found guilty for identity theft for allegedly creating a fake Facebook profile for her ex-boyfriend.

DT (full name redacted) is accused of creating the fake profile of her ex-boyfriend, a Northern New Jersey narcotics detective.  She  allegedly posted comments about him to the effect that he had herpes, frequented prostitutes, was “high”, and allegedly confessed, “I’m a sick piece of scum with a gun.”

This case could have wide implications for cyberspeech nationally.  At issue is a New Jersey statute which makes it illegal to impersonate anyone “...for the purpose of obtaining a benefit for himself or another, or to injure or defraud another.”  DT’s attorney attempted to have the charges dismissed on the grounds that the law does not mention “electronic communications”.   The Judge disagreed.

The ruling should give considerable pause to persons contemplating similar actions, since they will now be so doing at their own peril as the law continues to develop in this area.