Para ordenar a la Comisión de Familia, Mujer, Personas de la Tercera Edad y Población con Diversidad Funcional e Impedimentos del Senado de Puerto Rico realizar un estudio sobre la incidencia, modalidades y estrategias preventivas de la violencia cibernética contra mujeres en redes sociales y plataformas digitales en Puerto Rico; identificar patrones de acoso digital, ciberacoso sexual, doxing, difusión no consentida de imágenes íntimas y amenazas en línea; evaluar la respuesta actual del sistema de justicia y proponer recomendaciones para fortalecer la prevención, persecución y protección de las víctimas sin impacto fiscal adicional; y para otros fines relacionados.

2025-2028 Session

PR Department of Justice and Women's Office must jointly study cybernetic violence against women online, identify harassment patterns, evaluate justice system response, and recommend victim protection improvements.

Referido a Comisión(es)

Legislative bill overview

Bill RS 427 mandates the Puerto Rico Department of Justice and the Office of the Procuradora de las Mujeres to conduct a joint study on cybernetic violence against women in social media and digital platforms. The study will identify patterns of digital harassment, sexual cyberstalking, doxxing, non-consensual image sharing, and online threats, while evaluating current justice system responses and proposing strengthening recommendations.

Why is this important

Cybernetic violence against women is a growing problem across digital platforms with significant psychological and safety impacts on victims. The study aims to create data-driven policy recommendations to improve prevention, prosecution, and victim protection in Puerto Rico's legal system without requiring additional budget appropriations, addressing a gap in coordinated governmental response to digital gender-based violence.

Potential points of contention

Definition and scope ambiguity: The bill lists multiple forms of cyberviolence but doesn't establish clear legal definitions or thresholds for what constitutes each type, potentially leading to inconsistent data collection and prosecution standards

Resource allocation despite "no fiscal impact" claim: Conducting a comprehensive joint study requires personnel time, investigation resources, and expert consultation that may strain existing budgets, raising questions about realistic implementation

Privacy and data protection concerns: Studying patterns of cyberviolence requires analyzing personal data from social media platforms and victims' accounts, requiring careful handling of sensitive information and potential conflicts with data privacy regulations