Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on May 21 signed a new bill into law that enhances penalties for swatting, the practice of making false reports to 911 to trigger a large law enforcement response to a target’s location.
DeSantis said during a news conference in Polk County that the state has led the nation in its anti-swatting efforts when he signed a bill in 2021 that established felonies for swatting offenses that led to damage, injury, or death.
While that has been helpful, it hasn’t been sufficient, according to the governor. Swatting incidents continue in his state and across the country. Given advances in technology that allow pranksters to disguise their voices and hide their IP addresses and phone numbers, swatting has become easier and more common….