It is a criminal offense to communicate with or threaten a person with the intent to harass, annoy, alarm, abuse, torment, or embarrass the person. Criminal harassment may take many forms, and may be classified as the criminal offense of stalking, cyberbullying, or hate crimes—depending on the applicable state or federal law.

Laws vary from state to state, but a person generally commits a crime if, with the intent to harass, annoy, alarm, abuse, torment, or embarrass another, the person:

• initiates communication and in the course of the communication makes a comment, request, suggestion, or proposal that is obscene;

• threatens to inflict bodily injury or to commit a felony against the person, a member of the person’s family or household, or the person’s property in a manner reasonably likely to alarm the person;

• communicates a false report (that the communicator knows is false) that another person has suffered death or serious bodily injury, and does so in a manner reasonably likely to alarm the person receiving the report;

• causes the telephone number of another person to ring repeatedly, or makes repeated telephone communications anonymously or in a manner reasonably likely to harass, annoy, alarm, abuse, torment, embarrass, or offend another;

• makes a telephone call and intentionally fails to hang up or disengage the connection;

• knowingly permits a telephone under the person’s control to be used by another to harass someone;

• sends repeated electronic communications in a manner reasonably likely to harass, annoy, alarm, abuse, torment, embarrass, or offend another person.

The offense of criminal harassment is different from sexual or other harassment that may occur in the workplace, for example, and that is prohibited by state and federal law. Harassment in the workplace generally incurs potential civil liability (money damages in a lawsuit) but not criminal charges—unless the conduct is sufficiently egregious to constitute criminal harassment.

In Massachusetts, criminal harassment is defined under Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 265, Section 43A. A person commits the offense of criminal harassment if they willfully and maliciously engage in a pattern of conduct or series of acts over a period of time directed at a specific person, which seriously alarms or annoys that person and would cause a reasonable person to suffer substantial emotional distress. The conduct or acts must involve at least three incidents. The law also covers stalking, which is a more severe form of harassment involving a pattern of conduct that causes a reasonable person to fear for their safety or the safety of others or suffer substantial emotional distress. Cyberbullying is addressed under Chapter 71, Section 370, which prohibits the use of electronic communication to bully a child, defined as creating a hostile environment at school for the child. Hate crimes are addressed under various statutes, including Chapter 265, Section 39, which penalizes actions motivated by bias against race, color, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability. Criminal harassment can lead to criminal charges and penalties, including imprisonment, fines, and restraining orders, distinguishing it from workplace harassment, which typically results in civil liability rather than criminal charges.