Texas online impersonation — Penal Code § 33.07

Texas online impersonation is a criminal offense under Penal Code § 33.07. Punishment ranges depending on the specific subsection, prior-conviction enhancements, and statutory aggravators. Below: the controlling statute text, the full punishment range, common defense theories, and what to do if you have been charged in Collin, Dallas, Denton, or Tarrant County.

The controlling statute

Texas Penal Code § 33.07 punishes using another person's name or persona to create web pages, post messages, or send communications on social media without that person's consent. Subsection (a) — the felony branch — applies when the impersonation is done with intent to harm, defraud, intimidate, or threaten. Subsection (b), a Class A misdemeanor, covers sending electronic messages while pretending to be someone else with intent to cause that person harm. Both branches were designed for catfishing, revenge-website, and impersonation-harassment cases.

Classification & punishment range

Elements the State must prove

To convict on a Texas § 33.07 charge, the State must prove every element beyond a reasonable doubt:

1. Defendant used another person's name or persona to create a website, post a message, or send a communication
2. Without that person's consent
3. With intent to harm, defraud, intimidate, threaten (§ 33.07(a)) or cause harm via electronic message (§ 33.07(b))
4. The communication occurred on a commercial social-networking site or via electronic mail/text

Defense strategies

L and L Law Group, PLLC develops the following defense strategies on every Online Impersonation case:

• Consent — express or implied authority to use the name/persona
• Parody, satire, or political commentary protected by the First Amendment
• Lack of intent to harm — entertainment or anonymous-pseudonym use without targeting victim
• Mistake of identity — multiple accounts may have been operated by others
• Suppression of social-media records obtained without warrant under Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Article 18.21
• Constitutional challenges — § 33.07 has been challenged on overbreadth grounds and survives but with narrow application

Enhancements & collateral consequences

When the impersonation is part of a scheme that includes identity theft under § 32.51, online stalking under § 42.072, or harassment under § 42.07, charges typically stack. Federal exposure under 18 U.S.C. § 875 (Interstate Communications) or § 2261A (Cyberstalking) is common when the conduct crosses state lines. Impersonation of a public official additionally triggers § 37.11.