Politics

Wisconsin legislature pushing for prank call ban

Laura Donovan Contributor
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A week after Wisconsin Republican Gov. Scott Walker received a prank call from blogger Ian Murphy, who posed as conservative billionaire David Koch, two Wisconsin legislators introduced a bill Monday that would ban prank calls, reports the Badger Herald.

Republican state Sen. Mary Lazich and Republican state Rep. Mark Honadel said their measure would forbid deceiving the call’s recipient into believing the caller is someone he or she is not.

“While use of spoofing is said to have some legitimate uses, it can also be used to frighten, harass and potentially defraud,” Lazich and Honadel told the Badger Herald.

The bill wouldn’t affect everyone, however. Law enforcement officials who make fake phone calls to fight crime would be exempt from the law.

Among other things, the bill’s language prohibits callers from purposely giving a false phone number and lying about his or her identity. Honadel’s spokesperson added that the bill would forbid individuals from disguising their voices.

The proposed law would institute a fine of up to $10,000 for each violation.

The bill’s authors deny any correlation between the proposed law and last week’s false call made to Walker.

Laura Donovan