Brendan Howlin's party is urging the government to introduce a new Bill to "consolidate and reform the criminal law concerning harmful communications".
Speaking in the Dil yesterday, the Labour leader said that his party's new Bill being table "adopts the broadest possible definition to mean the communication of information by any means" and includes "the communication of information that is generated, processed, transmitted, received, recorded, stored or displayed by electronic means or in electronic form."
Secondly, the Bill sets out an "updated offence of harassment".
He explained: "Our new version provides that a person who, intentionally or recklessly and without lawful authority or reasonable excuse is guilty of harassment - if they act in any of the following ways to seriously interfere with the peace and privacy of the victim, or cause the victim alarm, distress or harm.
The actions spelled out are if the person "persistently follows, watches, pesters or besets another person, or persistently communicates with another person, or persistently communicates with a third person about another person".
The punishment for any of the aforementioned would be a Class A fine or imprisonment for 12 months or, on conviction on indictment, to a fine or 7 years.
Thirdly, Labour proposes that the Bill allows for "stalking to count as an aggravating factor in sentencing".
Deputy Howlin explained: "In other words, if the defendant’s acts both seriously interfered with the victim’s peace and privacy and caused the victim alarm, distress or harm, the court may take that into account as an aggravating factor."
He added: "If the defendant and the victim were in an intimate relationship and, in the course of or for the purposes of committing the offence – the defendan t made use of personal information about the victim, or the defendant made use of an electronic device or software in order to monitor, observe, listen to or make a recording of the victim or his or her movements, activities and communications, without the victim’s knowledge and consent, the court may take that fact into account as an aggravating factor."
Fourthly, Labour Bill "creates a new of offence of distributing an intimate image without consent" – what is commonly referred to as revenge porn.
Deputy Howlin told the Mail last night: "A person who takes, distributes or publishes an intimate image of another person without consent, or threatens to do so, and in doing so seriously interferes with the peace and privacy of the other person or causes alarm, distress or harm, is guilty of an offence."
In this case, such a person is liable on summary conviction to a Class A fine or to imprisonment for six months or both.
Finally, the Bill deals with prohibited messages.
"The Bill provides that a person who distributes or publishes a threatening, false, indecent or obscene message to or about another person is guilty of an offence," said Howlin.
"Again, this is limited to situations where the action is taken with intent to cause alarm, distress or harm, or recklessly, or persistently."
This offence is punishable on summary conviction by a Class A fine or imprisonment.
In the case of children, the Bill states that criminal proceedings against someone under the age of 17 "may not be taken except by or with the consent of the Director of Public Prosecutions".
Howlin said: "None of us are seeking to unfairly punish children here, and this is a measure to make sure that only serious crimes by children are subject to criminal proceedings."
Secondly, as a further protection for victims, the Bill provides for the protection of the identity of victims.
This provision is broadly modelled on reporting restrictions in the Criminal Law (Rape) Act 1981.
"And finally, but importantly, the Bill makes it clear that it is not to be interpreted as altering the law so as to prohibit or unduly restrict the exercise of the rights of peaceable assembly or peaceful picketing, or any other constitutional right," said Howlin.
"Free speech should remain just that. But harassment, stalking, and aggravated online bullying are not expressions of freedom - they are attacks on it.
"Women and Minority groupings are also more likely to be targeted - not because of anything they do, but because of who they are. We hope this Bill will protect our people - all of our people."