Is online impersonation a crime in Texas?
Yes, and the main version is a felony. Under Penal Code §33.07(a), using another person's name or persona without their consent, with intent to harm, defraud, intimidate or threaten anyone, to create a web page or to post or send messages on a social networking site, is a third degree felony, 2 to 10 years. A second, lesser offense in §33.07(b) covers sending emails, texts or similar messages that reference someone else's identifying information to make a recipient believe that person sent them. That one is a Class A misdemeanor, unless it was done to draw an emergency response, which makes it a third degree felony.
- Creating the page is enough. Subsection (a) does not require anyone to read it, believe it or be harmed.
- Four intents will do: harm, defraud, intimidate or threaten. Any one of them, directed at any person.
- "Persona" is wider than a name, so a profile that is recognizably someone without naming them can qualify.
- Subsection (b) is the messaging offense and it needs two intents: that the recipient believe the other person sent it, and intent to harm or defraud.
- Swatting is called out. A (b) offense committed with intent to solicit a response by emergency personnel is a third degree felony.
- Email and message board programs are excluded from the definition of a commercial social networking site, which narrows subsection (a).
- Platforms, ISPs and telecoms providers have a written defense, and so do their employees acting in that capacity.
This charge arises from situations that rarely feel criminal to the person doing it: a fake profile made after a breakup, an account opened in an ex-partner's name, a parody page about a colleague, a message sent from an address built to look like someone else's. Texas made the first of those a third degree felony, which puts it on the same shelf as assault on a public servant. Peter M. Barrett has defended these cases in Dallas County since 1994, across more than 150 jury trials, and the case review is free and confidential. This guide sets out what §33.07 requires.
The two offenses
| §33.07(a) profiles and posts | §33.07(b) messages | |
|---|---|---|
| Conduct | Using another's name or persona to create a web page, or to post or send messages on a social networking site | Sending an email, instant message, text or similar communication referencing another's name, domain, phone number or identifying information |
| Consent | Without the other person's consent | Without the other person's consent |
| Intent | To harm, defraud, intimidate or threaten any person | To make a recipient believe the other person authorized or sent it, and to harm or defraud any person |
| Grade | 3rd degree felony, 2 to 10 years | Class A misdemeanor, or 3rd degree felony if intended to solicit a response by emergency personnel |
Why the offense is complete so early
Subsection (a) punishes the creation of the page or the sending of the posts. It does not require that anyone saw it, believed it, acted on it or suffered anything. A profile taken down within an hour, that nobody reported, can still be the offense if the intent was there when it was made.
That also explains the gap between the two subsections. The felony version is about using an identity on a social platform. The misdemeanor version is about deceiving a recipient into thinking a message came from someone else, which is why it carries the extra "believe the other person authorized it" element.
Definitions that decide cases
- Commercial social networking site means a business or similar entity operating a website that lets people become registered users to establish personal relationships through direct or real-time communication or through profiles available to others. The definition expressly excludes an electronic mail program or a message board program, so conduct confined to email or a forum is outside subsection (a) and has to be charged, if at all, under subsection (b).
- Identifying information takes the meaning in §32.51, the fraudulent use of identifying information statute, which is broad and includes names, numbers and other identifiers.
- Persona is not separately defined, and that cuts both ways: it reaches accounts that are recognizably a person without naming them, and it leaves room to argue about whether a given account used anyone's persona at all.
The written defenses
§33.07(e) provides a defense for a defendant that is, or whose conduct consisted solely of action taken as an employee of, a commercial social networking site, an internet service provider, an interactive computer service as defined by 47 U.S.C. §230, a telecommunications provider, or a video or cable service provider.
Separately, §33.07(d) provides that where the conduct also violates another law, the actor may be prosecuted under this section, the other law, or both. In practice that means an online impersonation count often sits beside harassment under §42.07, stalking under §42.072, or fraudulent use of identifying information under §32.51, each with its own elements. The stalking and harassment guide and the identity theft guide cover those.
Where these cases are defended
- Intent, which is the whole case. Harm, defraud, intimidate or threaten. A parody account, a venting post, an account made to monitor someone, or one created during a mental health crisis are all consistent with none of those intents, and the State usually infers intent from content rather than proving it directly.
- Who created the account. An IP address identifies a connection, not a person. Shared networks, shared devices, saved logins and household access all matter, and platform records are often thinner than the allegation suggests.
- Whether a name or persona was used at all. An anonymous or clearly fictional account that discusses someone is not automatically using their persona.
- Which platform. If the conduct was confined to email or a message board, the felony subsection does not apply by its own definition, and what remains is the Class A misdemeanor at most.
- Consent, and its scope. Shared accounts between partners, family members or business associates raise genuine questions about whether consent existed and when it was withdrawn.
- Preservation. Platform data is deleted on short cycles. A preservation letter to the platform early is often the only way the full context, rather than a screenshot, ever reaches the file.
Common questions
Is making a fake social media account illegal in Texas?
It is where Penal Code §33.07(a) is satisfied: using another person's name or persona, without their consent, with intent to harm, defraud, intimidate or threaten any person, to create a web page or post messages on a social networking site. That is a third degree felony punishable by 2 to 10 years. Without one of those four intents, the statute is not met.
What is the punishment for online impersonation in Texas?
A §33.07(a) offense is a third degree felony, 2 to 10 years and a fine of up to $10,000. A §33.07(b) messaging offense is a Class A misdemeanor, up to a year in county jail, except that it becomes a third degree felony where the actor acted with intent to solicit a response by emergency personnel.
Does anyone have to actually see the fake profile?
No. The subsection (a) offense is complete on creating the page or posting the messages with the required intent. No one needs to have read it, believed it or been harmed by it, and taking it down quickly does not undo the offense, though it can matter to how the case resolves.
Is a parody account a crime?
It depends entirely on intent. The statute requires intent to harm, defraud, intimidate or threaten. Satire or commentary without any of those intents does not meet the element, but the line is argued from the content itself, so what the account actually posted matters a great deal.
Does it apply to email?
Not under the felony subsection. The definition of a commercial social networking site in §33.07(f) expressly excludes an electronic mail program and a message board program. Conduct confined to email falls instead under §33.07(b), the Class A misdemeanor messaging offense, unless it was done with intent to solicit an emergency response.
What if we shared the account?
Then consent is in issue, and it is an element the State has to negate. Shared logins between partners, family members or business associates are common, and a dispute about whether permission existed and when it ended is a factual question with messages and account history behind it, not a technicality.
I have been accused over an account I made. What should I do?
Do not delete the account or the messages, because that can be a separate offense, and do not explain why you made it, since explanations supply the intent element. Do not contact the complainant. Ask your lawyer to send preservation letters to the platform immediately, because the full thread usually helps more than the screenshot the complainant provided and it is deleted on short cycles. The consultation is free and confidential: (214) 526-0555, answered 24/7 for emergencies.
The law this article describes, at the source.
This page is general legal information about Texas law, not legal advice about your case. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Laws change, so confirm the current rule with a licensed Texas criminal defense attorney about your specific facts. Request a free, confidential case review.