TAMPA, FL. – In April, a Hillsborough County judge granted a search warrant to collect digital forensic evidence in a case involving social media death threats toward a child.
Several social media platforms are being ordered to comply with a criminal investigation under Florida State Statute 836.10(2)(a) which prohibits written or electronic threats to kill. Florida Statute 933.02 permits such communications to be seized.
In this case, both the City of Tampa Police and the Hillsborough Sheriff’s Office are engaged.
In the petition to unveil the harassers’ identities, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office seeks permission to subpoena Instagram for information about the account.
According to the Affidavit in Support of Search Warrant, fake Instagram accounts were created, and some of the messages sent “placed the victim in fear for the victim’s life and safety.”
In one of the messages, directed at an 11-year-old child, death threats stating, “stfu hoe go die u and ur mother bit*h I’ll rlly get u fu*king shot hoe don’t play,” were revealed in the filing.
Social media death threat statistics paint a dark picture of fear-inducing online content.
According to a survey conducted by CQ Roll Call, a Washington, D.C. newspaper and website, in 2021, 77% of Washington’s responding Republican lawmakers, and 74% of their responding Democrat counterparts received death threats through social media, voicemail, and other means of communication. According to a Roll Call article, Capitol Police indicate that death threats have tripled to over 9,600 in 2021 compared to 2017.
According to Nature.com, 15% of scientists outspoken on the COVID-19 pandemic have received online death threats.
On May 3, RollingStone.com reported on the Amber Heard v. Johnny Depp divorce case, stating that it reviewed a screenshot supplied by a friend of Heard’s that read, “Who wants to join me in my expedition to brutally murder Amber Heard.”
Victims of online death threats should immediately take a screenshot of the offending message and contact police. Investigations can typically determine if the offender is a human or a bot.
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