(a) A person commits an offense who intentionally:

Attorney's Note

Under the Tennessee Code, punishments for crimes depend on the classification. In the case of this section:
ClassPrisonFine
class E felony1 to 6 yearsup to $3,000
class A misdemeanorup to 11 monthsup to $2,500
For details, see Tenn. Code § 40-35-111
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Terms Used In Tennessee Code 39-17-308

  • Harm: means anything reasonably regarded as loss, disadvantage or injury, including harm to another person in whose welfare the person affected is interested. See Tennessee Code 39-11-106
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • Knowing: means that a person acts knowingly with respect to the conduct or to circumstances surrounding the conduct when the person is aware of the nature of the conduct or that the circumstances exist. See Tennessee Code 39-11-106
  • Minor: means any person under eighteen (18) years of age. See Tennessee Code 39-11-106
  • Person: includes the singular and the plural and means and includes any individual, firm, partnership, copartnership, association, corporation, governmental subdivision or agency, or other organization or other legal entity, or any agent or servant thereof. See Tennessee Code 39-11-106
  • Probation: A sentencing alternative to imprisonment in which the court releases convicted defendants under supervision as long as certain conditions are observed.
  • Record: means information that is inscribed on a tangible medium or that is stored in an electronic or other medium and is retrievable in a perceivable form. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • Services: includes labor, skill, professional service, transportation, telephone, mail, gas, electricity, steam, water, cable television, entertainment subscription service or other public services, accommodations in hotels, restaurants or elsewhere, admissions to exhibitions, use of vehicles or other movable property, and any other activity or product considered in the ordinary course of business to be a service, regardless of whether it is listed in this subdivision (a)(38) or a specific statute exists covering the same or similar conduct. See Tennessee Code 39-11-106
  • State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories of the United States. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
(1) Communicates a threat to another person, and the person communicating the threat:

(A) Intends the communication to be a threat of harm to the victim; and
(B) A reasonable person would perceive the communication to be a threat of harm;
(2) Communicates with another person without lawful purpose, anonymously or otherwise, with the intent that the frequency or means of the communication annoys, offends, alarms, or frightens the recipient and, by this action, annoys, offends, alarms, or frightens the recipient;
(3) Communicates to another person, with intent to harass that person, that a relative or other person has been injured or killed when the communication is known to be false; or
(4) Communicates with another person or transmits or displays an image without legitimate purpose with the intent that the image is viewed by the victim by any method described in subdivision (a)(1) and the person:

(A) Maliciously intends the communication to be a threat of harm to the victim; and
(B) A reasonable person would perceive the communication to be a threat of harm.
(b)

(1) A person convicted of a criminal offense commits an offense if, while incarcerated, on pretrial diversion, probation, community correction or parole, the person intentionally communicates in person with the victim of the person’s crime if the communication is:

(A) Anonymous or threatening or made in an offensively repetitious manner or at hours known to be inconvenient to the victim;
(B) Made for no legitimate purpose; and
(C) Made knowing that it will alarm or annoy the victim.
(2) If the victim of the person’s offense died as the result of the offense, this subsection (b) shall apply to the deceased victim’s next-of-kin.
(c)

(1) Except as provided in subsection (d), a violation of subsection (a) is a Class A misdemeanor.
(2) A violation of subsection (b) is a Class E felony.
(d) A violation by a minor of subdivision (a)(4) is a delinquent act and shall be punishable only by up to thirty (30) hours of community service, without compensation, for charitable or governmental agencies as determined by the court.
(e) As used in this section:

(1) “Communicate” means contacting a person in writing or print or by telephone, wire, radio, electromagnetic, photoelectronic, photooptical, or electronic means, and includes text messages, facsimile transmissions, electronic mail, instant messages, and messages, images, video, sound recordings, or intelligence of any nature sent through or posted on social networks, social media, or websites;
(2) “Electronic communications service” means any transfer of signs, signals, writing, images, sounds, data, or intelligence of any nature transmitted in whole or in part by a wire, radio, electromagnetic, photoelectronic or photooptical system;
(3) “Image” includes, but is not limited to, a visual depiction, video clip or photograph of another person;
(4) “Log files” mean computer-generated lists that contain various types of information regarding the activities of a computer, including, but not limited to, time of access to certain records, processes running on a computer or the usage of certain computer resources; and
(5) “Social network” means any online community of people who share interests and activities, or who are interested in exploring the interests and activities of others, and which provides ways for users to interact.
(f)

(1) The offense described in this section shall not apply to an entity providing an electronic communications service to the public acting in the normal course of providing that service.
(2) The service providers described in this subsection (f) shall not be required to maintain any record not otherwise kept in the ordinary course of that service provider’s business; provided, however, that if any electronic communications service provider operates a website that offers a social network service and the electronic communications service provider provides services to consumers in this state, any log files and images or communications that have been sent, posted, or displayed on the social network service’s website and maintained by the electronic communications service provider shall be disclosed to any governmental entity responsible for enforcing this section only if the governmental entity:

(A) Obtains a warrant issued using this state’s warrant procedures by a court of competent jurisdiction;
(B) Obtains a court order for the disclosure under subdivision (f)(4); or
(C) Has the consent of the person who sent, posted, or displayed any log files and images or communications on the social network service’s website maintained by the electronic communications service provider.
(3) No cause of action shall lie in any court against any provider of an electronic communications service, its officers, employees, agents, or other specified persons for providing information, facilities, or assistance in accordance with the terms of a court order or warrant.
(4) A court order for disclosure under subdivision (f)(2)(B) may be issued by any court that is a court of competent jurisdiction and shall issue only if the governmental entity offers specific and articulable facts showing that there are reasonable grounds to believe that the contents of an electronic communication, or the records or other information sought, are relevant and material to an ongoing criminal investigation. A court order shall not issue if prohibited by the law of this state. A court issuing an order pursuant to this section, on a motion made promptly by the service provider, may quash or modify the order, if the information or records requested are unusually voluminous in nature or compliance with the order otherwise would cause an undue burden on the provider.
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