‘Zoom-bombing’ religious services now punishable by jail time in Ohio

“It is simply unacceptable that there are Jewish communities where things like funeral services, shared digitally with those who mourn at a distance, are sometimes interrupted with things like Nazi symbolism, pornography and racial slurs.”

By Lauren Marcus, World Israel News

Ohio’s state legislature passed a law last week that stiffens penalties for people that disrupt religious services streamed online, a phenomenon dubbed “Zoom-bombing,” making the act punishable by up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine.

The law, called the “Increasing Penalties for Disturbing a Religious Service,” is aimed at protecting religious communities from harassment during virtual services.

While the proposal for the law came after pro-abortion activists repeatedly interrupted a Catholic church’s services due to their pro-life stance, support from Jewish groups was instrumental in passing the law, according to a Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) report.

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, who drafted the proposal to make Zoom-bombing a first-degree misdemeanor, asked legislators to consult with local religious communities about their experiences with online harassment.

Republican legislators reached out to local Jewish leaders and organizations, including Howie Beigelman, the executive director of the umbrella group the Ohio Jewish Communities.

Beigelman told JTA that the legislators “talked to us” about their expectations for the bill.

“We said generally the bill is important, but we also want you to be very specific about Zoom-bombing. And they like what’s that? I was like, ‘Well, let me tell you, it’s happening a lot to our community,’” he said.

Beigleman said that he had coordinated with administrators from the Ohio branches of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and the American Jewish Committee to lobby for the bill.

Last week, Rabbi Aryeh Ballaban, the leader of a synagogue in Dayton, Ohio, and an educator, said that he strongly supported the passage of the law.

“I have a disturbing number of colleagues who have seen their flocks engaged in worship be disrupted, harassed and intimidated,” Ballaban told the Ohio Capital Journal.

“It is simply unacceptable that there are Jewish communities where things like funeral services, shared digitally with those who mourn at a distance, are sometimes interrupted with things like Nazi symbolism, pornography and racial slurs,” he added.