Enlarge / Property of Representatives member Katherine Clark (D-Mass.)

The practice of swatting—meaning, reporting fake threats at an individual else’s location with the hopes of inciting a major response like a SWAT team visit—has expanded in recent years thanks to elements such as the rise of phone-masking services and Internet communities egging the act on. But the federal government’s lack of particular anti-swatting rules hasn’t helped, which is why Representative Katherine Clark (D-MA) proposed the Interstate Swatting Hoax Act on Wednesday.

“Whilst federal law prohibits employing the telecommunications system to falsely report a bomb threat hoax or a terrorist attack, falsely reporting other emergency conditions is not currently prohibited,” Clark wrote in her announcement of the bill. As such, her bill utilizes broad-yet-particular language to punish any individual who “makes use of a telecommunications method, the mails, or any other facility of interstate or foreign commerce to knowingly transmit false or misleading info indicating that conduct has taken, is taking, or will take location that may reasonably be believed to constitute a violation of any State or Federal criminal law, or endanger public wellness or safety.”

According to this bill, the quantity of federal jail time for an offense varies primarily based on no matter whether a government agency is mobilized due to the false report, and whether someone is injured or killed as a outcome. Offenders will also be forced to “reimburse any celebration for expenses for an emergency response.”