Cyberbullying: A Modern Problem

    A girl kills herself because she finds out the boy she liked on MySpace.com (“Myspace”) was actually a couple of girls, allegedly assisted by their parents, making fun of her. [1]  Another teenager is lured to a girl’s home and beaten repeatedly in retaliation for comments made on MySpace.com, while the beating is filmed for posting on MySpace. [2].  These events and others have highlighted the lack of adequate criminal laws about online harassment and online bullying – sometimes called cyberstalking or cyberbullying.
This article will examine the recent cases of cyberbullying, address examples of current laws that deal with cyberbullying and cyberstalking, and, finally, explain what needs to be changed about current laws to address the developing criminal area of cyberbullying.

I.    Cyberbullying in the News

    A.  Megan Meier
    A month is a long time in the life of a 13-year-old girl.  In one month, Megan Meier, a 13-year-old Missouri girl befriended a 16-year-old boy over MySpace named Josh Evans. [3] They flirted through MySpace, but then problems began when Evans began insulting Megan. [4]  Evans sent Megan a cruel message, ending their friendship by saying “I hear you’re not nice to your friends.” [5].  Then, Megan told her mother about the very mean messages being left about her on the Internet that said things like, “Megan Meier is a slut” and “Megan Meier is fat.” [6] These messages escalated over a two-day period. [7]  Shortly after on October 16, 2006, Megan killed herself. [8]
Later it was revealed that Josh Evans was a fake identity, created by a girl who knew Megan and the girl’s mother.  [9] One of the major problems with finding the parents of cyberbullies responsible for their childrens’ actions is the lack of a state or federal crime that applies to cyberbullying. [10].  No charges have been filed against the young girl and mother who, along with another friend, created the profile and initiated the harassment. [11]

    B.  Victoria Lindsay
    On March 30, 2008, Victoria Lindsay was lured to a friend’s house, where she was soon after attacked by six girls.  [12]  The girls slammed her head into a wall, and then punched her over and over until she was unconscious.  [13]  Then, once Victoria woke up, the girls began beating her again. [14]  One of the girls filmed the beating the entire time, with the intent of posting the video on the popular video Website YouTube.com (“YouTube”). [15]  The mother of one of the girls who took part in the beating claims that the beating was in retaliation for comments Victoria had made on MySpace. [16]  The girls were charged under assault and battery, but nothing involving the creation of the video with the intent of putting it on the Internet.  [17]  Victoria’s  father said the motivation was to become famous on the internet, and is calling , along with others, for something to be done about the “shock Websites” that motivate children to create shocking videos in order to become Internet stars.  [18]

    C.  JuicyCampus
    A Website that allows anonymous posting of any information one wishes, JuicyCampus.com (“JuicyCampus”), encourages university students to spread gossip and rumors about their classmates, professors, and others.  [19]. The information posted ranges from asking who has had sexual relations with a certain professor to rating the hotness (or ugliness) of various sororities to identifying which people on campus are gay. [20]  The implications of this Web site and others like it have not been fully explored, but the spreading of rumors and the escalating popularity of JuicyCampus implicate the possibilities of cyberharassment and cyberbullying.

II.    Current Laws
    In Missouri, where Megan Meier  lived  and was bullied, the state statutes do not account for situations of online stalking or harassment.  [21]  The statute accounts for repeated harassment, and for credible threats of death or serious physical injury, but does not mention online harassment. [22]  The Missouri governor is looking into changing the laws to respond to cases similar to Megan Meier’s suicide. [23]   The town of Florissant, one county away from where Megan lived, passed an internet harassment ordinance in Megan’s memory to ensure that there are laws to protect children who are victims of online harassment and bullying. [24]
    A Florida statute goes further in covering cyberbullying than Missouri and many other states.  [25]  Unlike the Missouri statute, it specifically mentions cyberstalking – defining it as electronic communications that cause “severe emotional distress” and serve “no legitimate purpose.” [26]  A statute like this can encompass more situations, including Megan Meier’s suicide.  However, it likely will not cover the beating of Victoria, which is allegedly motivated by posting a controversial video on YouTube.
    Washington state has a fairly broad cyberstalking statute. [27]  Washington, unlike many states, separates out cyberstalking into its own statutory section. [28]   In addition to covering situations of harassment and intimidation, the statute says that, “A person is guilty of cyberstalking if he or she, with intent to…embarrass any other person…makes an electronic communication to such other person or a third party…using any lewd…words, images, or language…anonymously or repeated whether or not conversation occurs.” [29]  By including situations of embarrassment and those involving lewd language, even those many anonymously, individuals who bully others online can be punished. [30]   This could facilitate prosecutions against individuals posting on JuicyCampus.  Ignoring issues with jurisdiction, an individual who anonymously posts a sexual or lewd rumor on JuicyCampus about someone else may be able to be convicted under the statute.
    Given this range of statutes related to the problem of cyberbullying,  and the lack of consistency in terminology – “online stalking,” “online harassment,” “cyberbullying,” etc – state law has a way to go to adapt to the new situations involving online bullying.

III.    What Needs to Change
    As explored above, there are a variety of types of statutes which may be applied, based on the state in which the cyberbullying occurs.  Some states make mean, crude messages on popular Websites illegal, whereas others require a credible threat of death or serious physical injury or severe emotional distress. [31]
     The reason that change is needed to protect individuals from cyberbullying is the psychological effect the Internet has on its audience, which is over one-third children and teenagers aged three to seventeen. [32]  Individuals online feel more empowered to say what they want or anything that comes to mind, a phenomenon dubbed by experts as the “online disinhibition effect.”  [33]   People say and do things in cyberspace that they would not do in face-to-face conversations for three reasons – (1) they can be anonymous, (2) they are not seen and (3) the conversations are not in real time. [34]  In addition, the response to these uninhibited actions is especially dramatic in “emotionally vulnerable young people” who can be more easily manipulated when they go online. [35]  When teenagers and others are cruel online, it brings real-world consequences like the suicide of Megan Meier.  Additionally, the online disinhibition effect can be translated into the real world, as in the beating of Victoria Lindsay which was allegedly motivated by the desire to post a video on YouTube.
    Although certain state and federal laws do not address these situations, some jurisdictions are changing their laws and special interest groups are getting involved.  Cities like Flossiant, Missouri have enacted ordinances to fill in the gaps of current state laws.  Parry Aftab, a lawyer famous for her work in Internet law, and the Wired Safety Group have created a Website to address the issue of cyberbullying –StopCyberbullying.org.  [36] The Website educates individuals about cyberbullying and what steps can be taken to eliminate it. [37]  The National Crime Prevention Council also has a campaign targeted toward children to help them recognize cyberbullying and to explain how to eliminate it called “Delete Cyberbullying.” [38].
    So, while there are strides being made to address the problem of cyberbullying, many states’ laws need to change to address the issues that arise when there is no recourse for punishing individuals who have acted criminally.  Despite the fact that the girls that abused Victoria Lindsay and the two young men that guarded the door of the house where she was trapped are being charged with various counts of assault and battery, Megan Meier’s family has no recourse against the family that cyberbullied their daughter. [39]

[1] Kim Zetter, Prosecutor Will Review Megan Meier Cyberbullying Case, WIRED, Nov. 19, 2007, http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2007/11/prosecutor-will.html.
[2] CBS/AP, Teens Arrested Over Filmed Beating, CBS NEWS, Apr. 8, 2008, http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/04/08/national/main4000740.shtml?source=mostpop_story.
[3] Good Morning America, Parents: Cyber Bullying Let to Teen’s Suicide, ABC NEWS, Nov. 19, 2007,http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Story?id=3882520.
[4] Id.
[5] Id.
[6] Id.
[7] Teresa Woodward, Florissant, MO Passes Cyber Harassment Legislation, MYFOX ST. LOUIS, Nov. 27, 2007, http://www.myfoxstl.com/myfox/pages/News/Detail?contentId=5046863&version=1&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=TSTY&pageId=3.2.1.
[8] Good Morning America, supra note 3.
[9] Id.
[10] Zetter, supra note 1.
[11] Woodward, supra note 7.
[12] CBS/AP, supra note 2.
[13] Id.
[14] Id.
[15] Id.
[16] Id.
[17] Id.
[18] CBS/AP, supra note 2.
[19] Juicy Campus, http://juicycampus.com/ (last visited Apr. 16, 2008).
[20] Id.
[21] MO. REV. STAT. § 565.255 (2007).
[22] Id.
[23] Woodward, supra note 7.
[24] Id.
[25] FLA. STAT. ANN. § 784.048 (West 2004)
[26] Id.
[27] WASH REV. CODE § 9.61.260 (2008).
[28] Id.
[29] Id.
[30] Id.
[31] FLA. STAT. ANN. § 784.048; MO. REV. STAT. § 565.255; WASH REV. CODE § 9.61.260.
[32] Ben Macklin, Marketing to Kids Online, EMARKETER, Aug. 29, 2006, http://www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?id=1004136.
[33] John Suler, The Online Disinhibition Effect, ENOTALONE, http://www.enotalone.com/article/2458.html (last visited Apr. 17, 2008).
[34] Id.
[35] Good Morning America, supra note 3.
[36] StopCyberbullying, http://www.stopcyberbullying.org/ (last visited Apr. 16, 2008).
[37] Id.
[38] National Crime Prevention Council, Delete Cyberbullying, http://www.ncpc.org/newsroom/current-campaigns/cyberbullying (last visited Apr. 16, 2008).
[39] CBS/AP, supra note 2; Woodward, supra note 7.

Comments

[Buy Dissertation Online]

Blogs are so interactive where we get lots of informative on any topics nice job keep it up !!

[Stretch Marks]

This article explain what needs to be changed about current laws to address the developing criminal area of cyberbullying.

[ashley]

im astonished by the megan meier case..
is was sad

[ashley]

im astonished by the megan meier case..
is was sad

[T.J.]

One of my family members has just been targeted on JuicyCampus.com. The blog is so hideous your minds would have a very hard time getting around it. It’s far worse than who is gay or who is a slut. The victim’s full name was listed in the blog and tagged to a sex act. Defamation of character no doubt, not to mention the psychological beating we are all taking right now.
It seems to have fueled the fire with a group that now is harassing the victim via text-messages, getting in their face screaming.
The victim went to the campus judge to file a restraining order who in turn found the Judge telling them to erase the harassing text-messages that threatened bodily harm? The Judge decided to do mediation with the head of this group and see how it goes before she actuly filed a restraing order. And sure enough a Cyber bully can’t stop themselves so this person has tried to contact the victim AGAIN 2 days ago on Facebook. I’m curious if the Judge will take in consideration that the victim is being cyber bullied our will she tell her to erase that evidence too!
I have written my state senators, my attorney has sent a letter requesting JuicyCampus.com take the blog off now and of course they said no. Every day it sits out there it eats at your soul. You see, we had to do something to show that they were going to fight this no matter how long it took.
What can I do to help change my state laws? Where would I start? Who should I contact?
The victim does plan on filing suite through the State Attorney General’s office after all information is gathered.

[liz]

This is a very sad situation - it is hard to believe with all the issues the politicians spend time on, there is little or no attention paid to the total lack of boundaries computer systems and technology have created for us. I love cell phones and computers and Ipods, etc., like everyone else and depend on them daily for the most part but for heaven's sake (and we know this lovely child is in heaven/post a photo of her - she really is beautiful) we need to regain our boundaries - we have lost them completely. It is certaintly time to set some guidelines and pass some laws to protect everyone, but especially children.

[Payday Loan Advocate]

The parents should guide their children. This is very alarming. These days a lot of things happening and by the use of modern technologies, sometimes it could bring a negative result to the children. So the parents should take care of their children. Being careful is a great one.

[Payday Loan Advocate]

Parents must give extra attention to their children.

[Jill]

Cyberbullying is a problem that we think should be addressed in schools with a solid curriculum that teaches about proper online behavior and how to take a stand against cyberbullying. Check us out at: www.faceourselves.com

[Brenda Preston]

As a parent, I became alarmed at everything my child was subjected to while online, cyber bullying, sexual predators, profanity, nudity and just plain inappropriate content. I did extensive research and found a website that is socially responsible for children ages 5-18. Before a child can become a member, their school must verify the child’s identification. The site is free, content monitored, cyber bulling controlled and predator free. My child can still play games, instant message, email, and all the other fun stuff, even create his own web page. It is a relief to know when he is online, he is safe.
Predators and bullies will not just go away, but on iland5, they can not get to my child. We as parents need to take every step to ensure our child’s safety while online, this is what I did and I hope you can pass the message.

The site for parents, teachers, and law enforcement is
www.safewave.org

and the site for the children

www.iland5.com

[Cindie Harman]

Could you please tell me -What was threatening in the e-mail messages concerning the Meirs case?