Social media has opened new avenues of communications and humiliations.
Among contemporary mischief is retaliating against other people by electronically sharing intimate or sexually explicit photos of them. This despicable activity commonly is called "revenge porn."
The practice has prompted Missouri lawmakers to consider legislation to outlaw the offense and establish punishments. The House Crime Prevention and Public Safety Committee held a hearing last week on a proposal sponsored by state Rep. Kevin Engler, R-Farmington.
"If this happened to you, it would be devastating, it would be unbelievable," Engler told the panel.
Revenge porn perpetrators usually are former romantic partners who react to bad breakups by publicly posting videos or pictures meant to be private. Although some images may have been obtained during the relationship, others reportedly have been stolen or hacked from online accounts.
Entrepreneurs eager to capitalize on corruption also have entered the picture; a man in the state of California faces 31 felony charges connected with attempts to extort money from victims of a revenge porn operation.
Credit Missouri lawmakers for treading slowly and carefully in this relatively unknown territory.
Although no one spoke in opposition to Engler's bill, discussion at the hearing raised a range of considerations. Among them are free speech rights, civil versus criminal legal actions, and possible exceptions, including medical communications.
Engler admits his proposal is not perfect and will need amendments and adjustments as it moves through the Legislature.
This is precisely what the legislative process is designed to do. Lawmakers, interested parties and residents mold and shape a concept to create a reasonable and enforceable law.
Continuing advances in technology invariably will create new opportunities for wrongdoing.
The revenge porn proposal provides a test case of how well we can craft legislation to corral the malicious byproducts of progress.