Please read the following: Texas currently has multiple laws that can prosecute against cyber stalking and cyber harassment. The first is Texas Penal Code Section 33.07, "Online Impersonation," which includes using another person's name to harm, intimidate, or threaten someone (Texas Penal Code, Sec. 33.07). Chapter 33 is Computer Crimes, and 33.07 mentions how the crime becomes a "felony of the third degree if the actor commits the offense with the intent to solicit a response by emergency personnel" (Texas Penal Code, Sec. 33.07). There is a surprising limitation to this law that provides a defense to prosecution if the actor works for or does the act as an employee of social networking sites, internet service providers, an interactive computer service, a telecommunication provider, a video service provider, or a cable service provider. The way this sounds is that the stalker just needs to get a job with the phone or cable company to be able to defend these laws.

The second Texas legislature to prosecute individuals for cyber-stalking is Texas Penal Code 42.07 Harassment, which could be used for stalking or bullying online (Texas Penal Code, Sec. 42.07). This one states that the offense is committed if a person intentionally harasses or embarrasses a person with obscene comments, threatens to scare or inflict bodily harm, calls and hangs up, lets someone else use their phone to commit the crime, sends repeated electronic communications, publishes on social media or internet website something to cause distress, tracks or monitors a person's property without consent, or makes obscene or intimidating calls through a phone or the internet. Texas Penal Code 42.072 is Stalking, which makes it an offense when the actor knows the other person will feel threatened (Texas Penal Code, Sec. 42.072). A stalking offense holds a third-degree felony unless the actor has been previously convicted of an offense in another state, an Indian tribe, the territory of the United States, or under federal law.

This was an interesting limitation to the law, which confused me. If someone else understands it better, please explain why it is less of a charge if the person has been convicted of a similar offense through other agencies.

To answer the central question of whether these laws deter criminals from committing crimes, I could not find such information. My personal opinion is that the individuals who are involved with this behavior do not consider consequences as they are hyper-focused on their goal of intimidation, control, or harm.

Then note what you have learned and/or any insights you have gained as a result of reading the comments your colleagues made.

References

Texas Penal Code, Title 33 Section 33.07 (Texas State Legislature).

Texas Penal Code, Title 42 Section 42.07 (Texas State Legislature).

Texas Penal Code, Title 42 Section 42.072 (Texas State Legislature).