Bill could mean jail for Internet flamers

[Pebb]

Source: CNN.com

A cyberbullying bill introduced last month has the potential to put half the Internet behind bars.

The Megan Meier Cyberbullying Prevention Act is Congress’ response to the 2006 suicide of a 13-year-old girl who was harassed on MySpace. The bill makes electronic communication a felony if “the intent is to coerce, intimidate, harass, or cause substantial emotional distress to a person.”

Congressmen probably aren’t the most Web-savvy bunch, but anyone familiar with trolling, flaming, and various other forms of online bullying could see a problem with this bill.

Network World examines the bill and explains this new breed of Internet criminal:

Given the freewheeling exchanges that characterize everything from SMS text messages and instant messaging to blogs and Web site comments, the broadly written bill potentially could turn a lot of flamers and bloggers into felons.

Amid growing online criticism, bill sponsor Rep. Linda Sanchez defended the Cyberbullying Prevention Act in a Huffington Post article this month:

Congress has no interest in censoring speech and it will not do so if it passes this bill. Put simply, this legislation would be used as a tool for a judge and jury to determine whether there is significant evidence to prove that a person “cyberbullied” another… So — bloggers, emailers, texters, spiteful exes, and those who have blogged against this bill have no fear — your words are still protected under the same American values.

While Rep. Sanchez’s assurances may be comforting, judges tend to follow the wording of a law rather than its sponsor’s intent. So before you text your cheating ex, slam those Apple forum fanboys, or call me a ‘moron’ in the comments, consider the possible consequences of this new bill, or at least put your lawyer’s number on speed dial.

 

[homeforsummer]

No more trolls...

 

[nk4e]

I wonder if Anon would do something about this.

 

[TheBook]

I'm guessing they are. If not, it can kiss its existence goodbye.

Actually, with their current intelligence level (like they had much to begin with, but still)... I dunno.

 

[Omnis]

This bill is a slippery slope waiting to happen.

 

[Mark T]

Surely people are protected under the current law anyway. If I was stalking or harassing someone I could be arrested for that offence.

 

[Famine]

The Megan Meier Cyberbullying Prevention Act is Congress’ response to the 2006 suicide of a 13-year-old girl who was harassed on MySpace.

I don't know about anyone else, but if I find a website that I don't like I don't go on it repeatedly until I'm driven to suicide. And I make it a policy to know what websites my daughter goes on.

I can't grasp the concept of being "bullied" by a medium you can switch off...

 

[Mark T]

I don't know about anyone else, but if I find a website that I don't like I don't go on it repeatedly until I'm driven to suicide. And I make it a policy to know what websites my daughter goes on.

I can't grasp the concept of being "bullied" by a medium you can switch off...

I would never take anything that personally anyway. I know that abuse can affect people in different ways, especially with younger people. I'm guessing that these cases relate to school bullying which gets carried over into Facebook, Myspace MSN etc.

 

[Danoff]

Congress has no interest in censoring speech...

Really? I fail to see the distinction.

 

[Pako]

In stead of legislation, TEACH YOUR KIDS TO USE THE IGNORE BUTTON and other useful filtering techniques to keep flamers from causing you emotional distress, or UNPLUG THE INTERNET!

Parents, take responsibility for your kids so big brother doesn't have to.

 

[Danoff]

TEACH YOUR KIDS TO USE THE IGNORE BUTTON a... or UNPLUG THE INTERNET!

Uh oh! Is that bullying I detect?

 

[Pako]

Uh oh! Is that bullying I detect?

YES it is dag-nabit!

 

[Sage]

It’s amazing how difficult it apparently is to understand the First Amendment. And it’s the first one… not the 23rd or 95th one or whatever that no one gives a crap about.

 

[Keef]

Well guys it looks like they're starting to have their way with this:

This is a problem. And yeah, Sage, it's pretty easy. That's the entire amendment, right there, just one sentence. Excluding the last line on the bottom, even. It's really, really simple.



EDIT:

I wonder if Anon would do something about this.

Anon is the type of person with the bravado to take the fight off the internet, at all costs. Anonymous doesn't screw around, lol.

 

[FoolKiller]

No more trolls...

Actually, trolls would be likely to be the ones to file a complaint.

The real trick here is this: Law enforcement would have to obtain information on a person from the Website and/or their ISP to find them. This would require a warrant, unless they somehow manage to squeeze this into the more recent laws that say they don't need warrants for specific types of electronic monitoring.

In the even of no warrant would sites be willing to give up user information? We already know that ISPs have given the info without a warrant.


I am glad to see that my Constitutional rights are being threatened from multiple angles.

 

[Perfect Balance]

 

[niky]

Seriously?


Seriously?







Seriously?!?





Aren't there already laws covering harrassment? Verbal abuse? Etcetera?


Why make up a new law for it?

 

[Tornado]

Oh, clever Congress. I see what you are doing now. Making up laws that have literally already been made up in order to make it look like you are doing something? Genius!

Seriously, is there any difference between this law and the similarly-idiotic one from 2006?

 

[Keef]

The only problem with that law is that it too is unecessary. Harrassment is harrassment, whether it's electronic or not. The original and broad laws against it are enough. The fact that they made it more specific for the internet only creates more loopholes.

When will they realize that the more specific the laws become, the more loopholes open up between the laws?

 

[Northstar]

I wonder if anyone ever stops to think that sheltering kids from bullies all their lives actually can lead to suicide. Think about it, the best way to not get sick is to build an immunity from that disease. The only way to do this is to come into contact with the disease in some form.

I think this same thing can be applied to bullying, parents spend so much time trying to avoid the inevitable that when it comes the kid doesn't know how to handle it and falls into a deep depression.

Maybe some day parents will wake up and well be parents and realize you can't shelter your kid from everything.

 

[FoolKiller]

I wonder if anyone ever stops to think that sheltering kids from bullies all their lives actually can lead to suicide. Think about it, the best way to not get sick is to build an immunity from that disease. The only way to do this is to come into contact with the disease in some form.

I think this same thing can be applied to bullying, parents spend so much time trying to avoid the inevitable that when it comes the kid doesn't know how to handle it and falls into a deep depression.

Maybe some day parents will wake up and well be parents and realize you can't shelter your kid from everything.

Yeah, my dad taught me to punch them in the nose as hard as possible. For kids, the fight ends there.


Maybe that isn't the good parenting you were referring to though?

 

[Tornado]

I wonder if anyone ever stops to think that sheltering kids from bullies all their lives actually can lead to suicide. Think about it, the best way to not get sick is to build an immunity from that disease. The only way to do this is to come into contact with the disease in some form.

I think this same thing can be applied to bullying, parents spend so much time trying to avoid the inevitable that when it comes the kid doesn't know how to handle it and falls into a deep depression.

Maybe some day parents will wake up and well be parents and realize you can't shelter your kid from everything.

This can be dangerous. Being bullied in elementary school is a good portion of the reasoning that I am the sarcastic 🤬 that I am today. I just never let go of those tendencies after the bullies got sick of being outsmarted.

 

[TofuStoreDrift]

I see one big flaw with this law. Lets say Famine is bullying me, how is a US law going to apprehend a UK citizen? Last time I check the US doesn't rule the world, or least not yet, yet the bullies on the net could be anyone, from anywhere.

 

[nk4e]

I see one big flaw with this law. Lets say Famine is bullying me, how is a US law going to apprehend a UK citizen? Last time I check the US doesn't rule the world, or least not yet, yet the bullies on the net could be anyone, from anywhere.

Possibly its part of the NWO?

 

[Tornado]

I see one big flaw with this law. Lets say Famine is bullying me, how is a US law going to apprehend a UK citizen? Last time I check the US doesn't rule the world, or least not yet, yet the bullies on the net could be anyone, from anywhere.

This was actually covered in the thread on the 2006 law. For those too lazy to bother with the link: Basically, extradition treaties if they really wanted to enforce the law.

 

[homeforsummer]

This was actually covered in the thread on the 2006 law. For those too lazy to bother with the link: Basically, extradition treaties if they really wanted to enforce the law.

Honestly though, who would bother extraditing someone for bullying though? They barely have the time and patience to do it with "suspected terror suspects".

Actually, knowing the way both our governments work, I can see them sending bullies back and forth with abandon as it's probably much easier to organise than actually going out and finding terrorists...

 

[Sureboss]

I don't know about anyone else, but if I find a website that I don't like I don't go on it repeatedly until I'm driven to suicide. And I make it a policy to know what websites my daughter goes on.

I can't grasp the concept of being "bullied" by a medium you can switch off...

Call me cynical, but I bet what happened here was that she was being bullied on MySpace by people she knows in real life, school probably, given she's 12. Rather than just random strangers.

 

[Northstar]

This can be dangerous. Being bullied in elementary school is a good portion of the reasoning that I am the sarcastic 🤬 that I am today. I just never let go of those tendencies after the bullies got sick of being outsmarted.

I didn't mean just throw your kid to the wolves. I meant that parents should actually teach their kids how to handle bullying instead of just sheltering them from it.

 

[FoolKiller]

So, out of curiosity, do sites like MySpace and Facebook not have a report tool?

Better yet, are they impossible to turn off?

And reading through the story it appears the bullies were actually a few teens and possibly a mother of one of them using a false persona to accuse the girl of her innappropriate behavior toward them in real life. she was also apparently depressed, suffering from ADD, and under the age limite for MySpace.

http://www.nationalpost.com/news/world/story.html?id=974494

Ms. Drew has maintained, through her lawyers, that she was aware of, but not involved in creating the Josh Evans MySpace profile. Others, however, including a former employee in the Drew household, have said that Ms. Drew played an active role and used the Josh Evans persona to find out more about perceived slights against her daughter by Megan.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,312018,00.html

Megan, a 13-year-old who suffered from depression and attention deficit disorder, corresponded with Josh for more than a month before he abruptly ended their friendship, telling her he had heard she was cruel.

Further down

Megan's parents said she received a message from him on Oct. 15 of last year, essentially saying he didn't want to be her friend anymore, that he had heard she wasn't nice to her friends.

The next day, as Megan's mother headed out the door to take another daughter to the orthodontist, she knew Megan was upset about Internet messages. She asked Megan to log off. Users on MySpace must be at least 14, though Megan was not when she opened her account

So, the question has to be asked: Did she kill herself because someone was mean to her or because she got called out on her own unacceptable behavior, which combined with her depression, led her to do it? The trouble is that no one wants to paint the dead girl as bad, and it never came out in the related court case, as the only legal violation was violating the MySpace EULA.


Judging by what I can find out, I think this may be no more than a bullying victim resorting to bullying as a defense. That doesn't make it right, but it does show the futility of this law if it is no more than a case of teens being teens (with the possibility of irresponsible parents thrown in).

 

[niky]

There's the rub there...how is this case any different from misrepresentation and ordinary harrassment?

By corresponding with an underage teen, pretending to be a boy interested in her, Mrs. Drew could probably run afoul of cyber-stalking laws already in place to protect underage users online.

Though breaking up with a friend online leading to a suicide is not necessarily going to be covered by this new law... so we're supposed to never fight with someone online? That's the most perversely idiotic thing I've ever heard. I mean,some people deserve to get pwned.