Some people in New Jersey and Pennsylvania are harassed over the internet. If you are the victim of harassment online, there are some steps that the attorneys at Swartz Swidler recommend that you take so that you can end the harassment and avoid future incidents.
Online harassment
There are two main categories of online harassment, including material that is posted by your harasser about you and material that is sent to you by the harasser. When you are at your job, you should only use the computer system for appropriate reasons. You should not view pornography online at work. If you do so and are caught, you could be disciplined or be sued for sexual harassment.
If you receive offensive emails from co-workers or supervisors, your employer may be liable if it fails to take prompt action. For example, one employer was sued by the EEOC after a worker sent an email across a department that included offensive and racist jokes.
What you can do if you are the victim of online harassment
You can install a filter on your laptop or desktop that will discard email messages that originate from designated people or that have certain subject matters. This can help you to avoid seeing items about offensive subjects or from specific individuals. If you are participating in a discussion forum, you can request your computer to block incoming messages from a harassing or offensive person. Report harassment to the website’s host from which the harassing material has originated. You might be able to get the person banned. You can use internet access and parental controls to keep from accidentally seeing offensive material when you are searching the internet. Employers may install programs that search emails and block any that contain offensive keywords. You can also install anti-spam software that can filter out certain advertisements.
It is important for you to be cautious about what types of information that you share about yourself online. When you put too much information about yourself online, you are providing potential harassers with a way to target you. For example, you may want to avoid putting photos of yourself online on websites that the public is able to access.
Contact Swartz Swidler
If you are the victim of online harassment, talking to an attorney at Swartz Swidler might help you to learn how to end the harassment. To schedule a consultation, contact us today by filling out our contact form.
