Online Harassment and Posting Messages in Michigan (MCL 750.411s)

Posting about another person online becomes a crime in Michigan under MCL 750.411s when the post is made without the victim's consent, the poster knows or has reason to know it could cause 2 or more separate noncontinuous acts of unconsented contact with the victim, the post is intended to cause conduct that would make the victim feel terrorized, frightened, intimidated, threatened, harassed, or molested, and conduct arising from the post would cause a reasonable person, and does cause the victim, to suffer emotional distress and to feel that way.^[1] It is a felony punishable by up to 2 years in prison, a fine of up to $5,000, or both.^[2]

If you are in immediate danger, call 911. The National Domestic Violence Hotline describes its service as free, confidential and available 24/7 at 1-800-799-SAFE (7233), or text START to 88788.^[7] Michigan's statewide VOICES4 hotline takes calls and texts at 855-864-2374.^[8][9]

The statute is aimed at a specific pattern: a post that sets other contact in motion. This page explains what it covers, what it leaves to other statutes, and how it relates to stalking.

What does MCL 750.411s prohibit?

The statute applies to posting a message "through the use of any medium of communication, including the internet or a computer, computer program, computer system, or computer network, or other electronic medium of communication, without the victim's consent."^[1] All four of the following then have to be true:

1. The person knows or has reason to know that posting the message could cause 2 or more separate noncontinuous acts of unconsented contact with the victim.^[1]
2. Posting the message is intended to cause conduct that would make the victim feel terrorized, frightened, intimidated, threatened, harassed, or molested.^[1]
3. Conduct arising from the post would cause a reasonable person to suffer emotional distress and to feel that way.^[1]
4. Conduct arising from the post actually causes the victim to suffer emotional distress and to feel that way.^[1]

Notice where the harm comes from. Items 3 and 4 speak of "conduct arising from" the post. The statute is written for the situation in which a post leads to the victim being contacted, followed, called, or visited, and that contact causes the distress.^[1]

Key definitions

Term	Meaning in the statute
Post a message	Transferring, sending, posting, publishing, disseminating, or otherwise communicating information about the victim, or attempting to, "whether truthful or untruthful."[3]
Unconsented contact	Any contact initiated or continued without the individual's consent or in disregard of the individual's expressed desire that it be avoided or discontinued. Listed forms include following the victim, appearing at the victim's workplace or residence, contacting the victim by telephone, sending mail or electronic communications, and delivering or having an object delivered to the victim's property.[10]
Victim	The individual who is the target of the conduct elicited by the posted message, or a member of that individual's immediate family.[10]
Credible threat	A threat to kill or to inflict physical injury on another individual, made in any manner or context that causes the person hearing or receiving it to reasonably fear for his or her safety or the safety of another individual.[11]

What the statute does not reach

Three limits are written into the section or follow from its wording.

• Protected speech. The section "does not prohibit constitutionally protected speech or activity."^[4]
• Platforms and providers. The section does not apply to an internet or computer network service provider who in good faith, and without knowledge of the specific nature of the message posted, provides the medium for disseminating information or communication between persons.^[4]
• Posts without the listed intent and effect. Because all four conditions have to apply, a post that is unkind or embarrassing, but that is not intended to cause frightening or harassing conduct toward the victim, is outside the section.^[1]

Truth is not a carve-out. Under this statute the definition of posting a message expressly covers information "whether truthful or untruthful."^[3] Accuracy is not the dividing line in MCL 750.411s; the intended and actual effect of the post is.^[1]

A second point concerns the name. The statute does not use the word "cyberstalking"; it speaks of posting a message, and that informal label should not be mistaken for the legal test.^[1]

Penalties

Situation	Maximum prison	Maximum fine
Unlawfully posting a message, no aggravating circumstance[2]	2 years	$5,000
The post violates a restraining order of which the person had actual notice, or an injunction[2]	5 years	$10,000
The post violates a condition of probation, parole, pretrial release, or bond pending appeal[2]	5 years	$10,000
The post results in a credible threat being communicated to the victim, a family member, or a household member[2]	5 years	$10,000
The person has a prior conviction under this section, the stalking or aggravated stalking statutes, or certain computer-crime statutes[2]	5 years	$10,000
The victim is under 18 and the person is 5 or more years older[2]	5 years	$10,000

The section does not prevent a person from being charged with, convicted of, or punished for any other violation of law committed while violating it, and the court may order a convicted person to reimburse the state or a local unit of government for expenses incurred in relation to the violation.^[12] Charges may be filed within 6 years after the offense is committed.^[13]

For someone already under a personal protection order (PPO) or a bond no-contact condition, the second and third rows are the relevant ones: a post that meets the elements of the offense and also violates the order or condition falls in the higher tier.^[2] See Violating a no-contact order and PPO violation penalties.

Where can the case be brought?

Online conduct crosses state lines, so the statute has its own rule. A person may be prosecuted in Michigan only if one of four things is true: the person posted the message while in this state; conduct arising from the post occurs in this state; the victim is present in this state when the offense or any element of it occurs; or the person posting knows that the victim resides in this state.^[14]

How this differs from stalking and from harassing messages

The three statutes overlap but ask different questions.

Statute	Core conduct	Level
Stalking, MCL 750.411h[15][16]	A willful course of conduct involving repeated or continuing harassment of another individual	Misdemeanor, up to 1 year
Posting a message, MCL 750.411s[1][2]	A post, made without consent, that could cause 2 or more acts of unconsented contact and is intended to cause frightening or harassing conduct	Felony, up to 2 years
Malicious use of a telecommunications service, MCL 750.540e[6]	Using a telecommunications service with intent to terrorize, frighten, intimidate, threaten, harass, molest, or annoy, by a listed act such as a threat or obscene language	Misdemeanor, up to 6 months

Messages sent straight to a person are a listed form of unconsented contact under the stalking statute, which names "sending mail or electronic communications."^[5] Repeated direct messages can therefore be part of a stalking charge if the rest of the stalking definition is met, and messages containing a threat of physical harm or vulgar, indecent, obscene, or offensive language, sent maliciously with the intent the statute requires, fall under MCL 750.540e.^[15][6] Those offenses are covered in Stalking (MCL 750.411h) and Harassing calls and texts.

Other statutes cover particular online conduct:

• Using the internet or a computer to communicate with any person for the purpose of committing stalking or aggravated stalking is a separate offense whose sentence may be made consecutive to the sentence for the underlying crime.^[17]
• Cyberbullying under MCL 750.411x covers a message posted in a public media forum about another person that is intended to place a person in fear of bodily harm or death, expresses an intent to commit violence against the person, and is posted with the intent to communicate a threat or with knowledge that it will be viewed as a threat; a first offense is a misdemeanor punishable by up to 93 days and $500.^[18]
• Disseminating sexually explicit images of an identifiable adult with intent to threaten, coerce, or intimidate is a misdemeanor punishable by up to 93 days and $500 for a first violation and up to 1 year and $1,000 for a later one.^[19][20]

Threatening language on its own is discussed in Are threats a crime in Michigan? and conduct that is hurtful but not criminal in Is verbal or emotional abuse a crime?

Proving who posted it

In any case built on online posts, someone has to show who wrote them. Michigan courts deciding whether a social media account or post is authentic are told to be mindful of fake accounts, hacked accounts, and deep fakes.^[21] That cuts both ways: it is a reason for a person reporting harassment to preserve screenshots, links, dates and account details, and a reason an accused person may dispute authorship. The evidence rules are explained in Text messages and social media as evidence.

Deleting posts after the fact is risky for a different reason. Knowingly and intentionally removing, altering, concealing, or destroying evidence to be offered in a present or future official proceeding is a felony punishable by up to 4 years and $5,000.^[22]

A PPO is available without a criminal charge

A person targeted by this kind of posting can ask the family division of circuit court for a nondomestic stalking PPO, which can restrain conduct prohibited under MCL 750.411s as well as stalking and aggravated stalking.^[23] The petition has to allege facts that constitute that conduct.^[23] Relief may be sought and granted whether or not the person to be restrained has been charged or convicted.^[23] The process is described in Types of PPOs in Michigan and How to get a PPO.