School: Minister Destiny Testimony Schools Track: Youth Class: Topic Library — Year 1 (Foundations) Presented by: Minister Destiny Marie Morgan, Muslim Ordained Minister
This lesson is educational information and is not legal advice. Laws vary by state. If you are in danger right now, call 911.
Before you start
- This space is private. Nobody sees what you read or answer. Progress stays on your device.
- We never ask your name. Not here, not on the test, not on the certificate. If you earn a certificate, you write your own name on it after downloading.
- Pass the test at 80% or higher to earn this unit's certificate. Retake it as many times as you need. Answers are not shown: go back and find what you missed.
- If you are in danger right now: call 911. If you cannot talk, text HOME to 741741 (Crisis Text Line) or call or text 988 any time.
- This unit extends the Cyber Bullying and Stalking units — it does not repeat them. It teaches the other crimes that happen on social media, in plain protective words, exactly how the FBI teaches young people about the worst of them: it is a crime done to a young person, never the young person's fault.
The lesson
Part 1. This unit starts where two others end
You may already know Cyber Bullying (saving proof, standing by a friend) and Stalking (when someone will not stop contacting you). This unit adds the rest of the map — the other crimes on social media, the laws in plain words, and the steps that protect you. Everything here is protective; nothing teaches how any crime is done.
One idea runs through the unit: proof can travel as fast as harm — if you save it before it disappears. Screenshots with dates, account names, and the order of events turn "nobody will believe me" into something adults and police can act on. Cyber Bullying taught the saving habit; this unit teaches when the law calls something a crime, so you know how much help you deserve.
Part 2. Threats and pile-ons — when words become crimes
Arguments online are not crimes. But the law draws real lines. Threats: a message seriously threatening to hurt someone can be a crime — federal law (18 U.S.C. § 875) covers threats sent across state lines, as internet messages usually are, and Massachusetts law covers threats too. Courts protect free speech carefully: in Elonis and Counterman, the Supreme Court required proof of what the sender understood — at minimum, that the sender recklessly disregarded a real risk the words would be taken as threatening violence. Plainly: "just a joke" is not automatic protection, and not every angry message is a crime. Adults sort the facts; your job is never to sort them alone.
Pile-ons are the second line: many accounts attacking one person together. Each sender may say "I only sent one message" — but the law looks at the pattern. Federal stalking law (18 U.S.C. § 2261A) and Massachusetts stalking and criminal-harassment laws (chapter 265, §§ 43 and 43A) are built for patterns meant to frighten or seriously distress — and both Massachusetts laws expressly cover internet messages. A pattern is not protected because it was divided into pieces.
Part 3. Doxxing and swatting — two crimes that leave the screen
Doxxing means publishing someone's private information — home address, school, a parent's workplace, phone number — to invite others to harass or harm them. "Findable somewhere" is not permission; the wrong is the invitation. If someone posts your private information, that is a crime to report, not an embarrassment to hide: save the posts, tell an adult, and ask about platform removal and, if the pattern continues, a court order (Part 5).
Swatting is a fake emergency report: someone lies to emergency services, claiming violence at an address, to send police rushing to an innocent home. Never a prank: it terrifies the family, wastes responders a real emergency needs, and risks real injury in a response to nothing. If you hear someone planning one — in a chat, in a game — tell a trusted adult or report it. Speaking up is how it stops before a door is forced open at midnight.
Part 4. Sextortion — a crime done TO a young person, never their fault
This is the unit's most important part, written the way the FBI writes it for young people. Sextortion happens when an adult tricks or pressures a young person connected to images, then threatens them — threatening to share images unless the young person sends more, or pays money. The FBI's guidance is clear about where the crime lives: the adult is the criminal. The young person is the victim. It is never the young person's fault, and the young person is not in trouble for being tricked.
Read that again: the criminal's whole plan depends on the victim believing the opposite. Shame and fear are the tools — lies told by a criminal. The FBI instructs young people to do what this school always teaches: stop, do not send anything more, do not pay, save the messages, and tell a trusted adult right away, and report it to the platform and law enforcement. The same sentence, true every time: you will not be in trouble for telling; telling is how it stops. You will be believed and helped — and reporting protects the next young person too. If this part frightens you, the help lines in Resources are staffed by people who take exactly this call.
Part 5. Your protection plan — settings, saving, orders, adults
A plan for your worst day, not just a good one. Settings first: private accounts, followers you actually know, location sharing off, selective posting — the FBI's guidance teaches the same habits; a smaller audience is a smaller target. Save before you solve: screenshot with account name, date, and time; keep messages in order. Do not delete in fear; do not answer to "get more proof." Tell and keep telling: a trusted adult, the platform's report button, then — for threats, patterns, doxxing, or sextortion — the police, with your proof in hand. Know the court door: Massachusetts ch. 258E lets a person suffering harassment ask a court, with an adult's help, for a harassment prevention order — no contact, stay away from home and school or workplace. Judges act on records, and your record is the one you kept.
Words to know — Social Media Crimes and Prevention and Laws
- Threat — a serious message promising to hurt someone; online threats can be crimes.
- Course of conduct — a pattern of acts over time aimed at one person — the shape stalking and harassment laws are built for.
- Doxxing — publishing someone's private information, like a home address, to invite harassment or harm.
- Swatting — a fake emergency report meant to send police rushing to an innocent person's home; a dangerous crime, never a prank.
- Sextortion — an adult threatening a young person over images; the adult's crime, never the young person's fault.
- Trusted adult — an adult who believes you, does not hurt you, and will act to help you stay safe.
- Harassment prevention order — a ch. 258E court order: stop contacting someone; stay away from their home and school or workplace.
- Evidence — saved proof: screenshots with accounts, dates, and times, kept in order.
Myths vs facts — Social Media Crimes and Prevention and Laws
- Myth: Threats online are 'just words,' not real crimes. Fact: Serious threats are crimes under federal and Massachusetts law; recklessness can be enough, and 'online' is no shield.
- Myth: One message in a pile-on is nothing. Fact: The law looks at the pattern — joining it is part of it.
- Myth: "Findable" information is fine to post about someone. Fact: Doxxing's wrong is the invitation to harass or harm. Findable is not permission.
- Myth: Swatting is a funny prank. Fact: It is a fake emergency that endangers an innocent family and the responders. It is a serious crime.
- Myth: A young person in sextortion will be in trouble and should stay quiet. Fact: The FBI says the opposite: the adult is the criminal; the young person is a victim, not in trouble — and telling is how it stops.
Think it through — Social Media Crimes and Prevention and Laws
The situation: Someone posts Maya's home address in a group chat — "go say hi" — and for two days new accounts send waves of insults after every post she makes. One message says, "We know your street. Sleep well." Maya deleted the first day's messages and is scared to tell her mother, thinking she "started it" by arguing in the chat last week.
Walk it through: (1) Name it (Parts 2–3): doxxing; a pattern — a course of conduct; a threat. Last week's argument makes none of it her fault. (2) Laws in outline (Part 2): patterns meant to frighten fit the federal stalking law and Massachusetts §§ 43 and 43A; threats fit the threat laws — adults sort the exact charges. (3) Proof from today (Part 5): stop deleting; save everything with account names, dates, and times; report every account. (4) Tell (Parts 4–5): her mother first, then police with the proof — and ask about a ch. 258E order. Any suggestion of coming to her home is 911.
Cases & codes to study — Social Media Crimes and Prevention and Laws
Elonis v. United States, 575 U.S. 723 (U.S. Supreme Court, 2015)
- The facts: A man posted violently worded lyrics on Facebook about his wife and others and was convicted of online threats.
- The question: Can someone be convicted just because a reasonable reader would feel threatened, without proof of what the sender understood?
- The ruling and the outcome: No — the law requires more than carelessness about how words would land. The decision was reversed and sent back.
- Why it matters to you: Courts examine the sender's side too — which is why the exact words you save matter.
- 📄 Court document: https://www.oyez.org/cases/2014/13-983 (case page, at Oyez)
Counterman v. Colorado, 600 U.S. 66 (U.S. Supreme Court, 2023)
- The facts: A man sent hundreds of unwanted Facebook messages to a musician, making new accounts whenever she blocked him.
- The question: What must the government prove about the sender before punishing messages as true threats?
- The ruling and the outcome: It must show the sender at least recklessly disregarded a real risk his words would be viewed as threatening. The conviction, built without that proof, was vacated.
- Why it matters to you: "I didn't mean it" is not a magic shield — ignoring the obvious risk your words terrify someone can be enough.
- 📄 Court document: https://www.oyez.org/cases/2022/22-138 (case page, at Oyez)
Packingham v. North Carolina, 582 U.S. 98 (U.S. Supreme Court, 2017)
- The facts: A state banned everyone on its registry from social media and prosecuted a man for a post celebrating a dismissed ticket.
- The question: Can a state ban a whole group from social media entirely?
- The ruling and the outcome: No. The ban punished far more speech than its safety purpose allowed. The conviction was reversed.
- Why it matters to you: Safety laws must aim at harmful behavior — threats, patterns, contact — not at simply being online.
- 📄 Court document: https://www.oyez.org/cases/2016/15-1194 (case page, at Oyez)
The law itself — read the real words
- 18 U.S.C. § 875(c) (U.S. Code) — threats to kidnap or injure sent across state lines are a federal crime. Read it: https://law.justia.com/codes/us/title-18/part-i/chapter-41/sec-875/
- 18 U.S.C. § 2261A(2) (U.S. Code) — an online course of conduct meant to frighten or seriously distress can be federal stalking. Read it: https://law.justia.com/codes/us/title-18/part-i/chapter-110a/sec-2261a/
- Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 265, § 43 (Mass. Gen. Laws) — Massachusetts stalking: a pattern plus a threat of death or bodily injury, including by internet messages. Read it: https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartIV/TitleI/Chapter265/section43
- Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 265, § 43A (Mass. Gen. Laws) — criminal harassment: a willful pattern seriously alarming someone, including by internet messages. Read it: https://law.justia.com/codes/massachusetts/2015/part-iv/title-i/chapter-265/section-43a/
- Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 258E (Mass. Gen. Laws) — harassment prevention orders: no contact; stay away from home and school or workplace. Read § 3: https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/Partiii/Titleiv/Chapter258e/Section3
Free reading: Oyez (https://www.oyez.org); malegislature.gov (https://malegislature.gov).
Try this — Social Media Crimes and Prevention and Laws
- ☐ I can name the five crimes in this unit.
- ☐ I know my saving order: screenshot with account, date, and time — before I block or delete anything.
- ☐ I set one account more private and turned off location sharing.
- ☐ I named my trusted adults out loud to a friend or wrote them in my notebook.
- ☐ I know the sextortion truth by heart: the adult is the criminal; telling is how it stops.
Resources to keep — Social Media Crimes and Prevention and Laws
- 911 — in danger now, or if anyone suggests coming to your home.
- 988 (call or text) — support any time, including if messages are making you feel hopeless.
- Crisis Text Line: text HOME to 741741 — if you would rather type than talk.
- Childhelp: 1-800-422-4453 — help if an adult is pressuring or hurting you.
- National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-7233 — if the person threatening you is a dating partner.
- mass.gov — Massachusetts court information about harassment prevention orders.
What you earned / what's next — Social Media Crimes and Prevention and Laws
✅ Social Media Crimes and Prevention and Laws complete (quiz score 80% or higher): You can name the crimes that happen on social media, tell a threat and a pattern from an argument, state the sextortion truth the FBI teaches, save proof in the right order, and run your protection plan.
Your certificate
Minister Destiny Testimony Schools Certificate of Completion — Social Media Crimes and Prevention and Laws
This certificate is presented by Muslim Ordained Minister Destiny Marie Morgan
Awarded to: ______________________________ (write your name here after you download — your name is never collected or stored by this school)
Date completed: ______________
Congratulations. You know the screen's dangers by name and the plan that answers every one of them: save, tell, report, and never carry shame that belongs to a criminal. — Minister Destiny Marie Morgan
This is a certificate of educational completion from Minister Destiny Testimony Schools. It is not a state license, a government certification, or legal training for representing anyone.
What's next: Return to the Topic Library for your next Year 1 Foundations unit.
Sources
- Sextortion: A Growing Threat Targeting Minors — FBI (https://www.fbi.gov/contact-us/field-offices/atlanta/news/sextortion-a-growing-threat-targeting-minors) — the FBI framing this unit follows: the crime is the offender's; come forward to a trusted adult or law enforcement.
- Sextortion Targets Youth Online — FBI (https://www.fbi.gov/video-repository/sextortion-053019.mp4/view) — transcript checked: victims are not in trouble; the coercing adult is.
- Elonis v. United States, 575 U.S. 723 (U.S. Supreme Court 2015) — negligence is not enough under § 875(c).
- Counterman v. Colorado, 600 U.S. 66 (U.S. Supreme Court 2023) — true threats require subjective proof; recklessness suffices.
- Packingham v. North Carolina, 582 U.S. 98 (U.S. Supreme Court 2017) — a blanket access ban burdened too much speech.
- 18 U.S.C. § 875 (U.S. Code) — interstate threats to kidnap or injure.
- 18 U.S.C. § 2261A (U.S. Code) — federal stalking, including online conduct.
- Chapter 265 § 43 (Mass. Gen. Laws) — Massachusetts stalking, including electronic communications.
- Chapter 265 § 43A (Mass. Gen. Laws) — Massachusetts criminal harassment, including electronic communications.
- Chapter 258E § 3 (Mass. Gen. Laws) — harassment prevention orders.
Your Progress — On Your Device Only
- Learning outcomes: On completing this unit, the student can:
- distinguish a threat and a pattern from an ordinary online argument
- name doxxing and swatting and state why each is a serious crime
- state the FBI's sextortion framing: the adult is the criminal; telling a trusted adult is how it stops
- save proof in the right order with accounts, dates, and times, without deleting or re-engaging
- run the protection plan: settings, saving, telling, reports, and the ch. 258E court door
- Study time: Approximately 1 hour — an estimate covering reading, activities, and the test. Students move at their own pace.
- Assessment: A 10-question test drawn only from this unit's lesson. 80% or higher passes and earns the unit certificate. Answers are not shown; your score is saved only in your own browser on this device, and retakes are allowed.
- Level: Topic Library — Year 1 (Foundations) · Youth school · working rank on completion path: Freshman → Sophomore.
- Version: Version 1.0 — October 2026.
Minister Destiny Testimony Schools — Youth. Educational information only, not legal advice. Help lines: 911 · 988 (call or text) · Crisis Text Line (text HOME to 741741) · Childhelp 1-800-422-4453.