Dear John,

I am excited to share that things just got a little safer online, as ADL’s Backspace Hate initiative to combat online hate and harassment recently achieved our first big victory. In Washington, Substitute House Bill 2632, a swatting bill we championed, was signed into law by Governor Jay Inslee!

Swatting is the false reporting of an emergency, usually an urgent or violent crime, with the goal of having a police unit or emergency response team (often a swat team, hence the name) deployed to a dwelling. For example, in one case that led to a fatality, a prank swatting call was made that stemmed from an argument on an online video game; police responded to the false report of a domestic shooting and hostage situation and shot a homeowner who answered the door.

Swattings like this one have become an increasingly common digital harassment tactic. These incidents have led to injuries, trauma, and even fatalities among targets and unintended victims. Perpetrators of swatting have made hoax swatting calls to homes of government officials, executives, and journalists in addition to specific targets. Often, targets are also chosen based on the perpetrators’ racist and antisemitic views, causing harm to marginalized communities. Washington’s new law codifies swatting, increases penalties against perpetrators and empowers victims to seek civil damages.

In Washington, ADL’s Pacific Northwest regional office worked closely with legislators, basing the bill text on ADL’s model language. We worked with our partners at the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle to promote this legislation every step of the way and drive it to final passage. This victory is the culmination of months of work by a coalition our team built with civil rights and social justice organizations, state government stakeholders, legislative champions and volunteer activists like you.

In these uncertain times, ADL’s work to protect people from online violence is incredibly important. We will continue to work on legislation to address swatting and other forms of online hate and harassment through Backspace Hate all around the country.

This is just the beginning for Backspace Hate! We championed bills in four other states (CA, CT, MD and MO) during the legislative session and received positive feedback from coalition partners and lawmakers, before legislatures were shut down prematurely and dedicating all work to COVID-19 relief.