Cyberbullying Vs. Free Speech

CBS News Technology Analyst Larry Magid Wonders If It's An Epidemic Or An Overreaction

(CBS)  The case of Megan Meier screams out for justice. But to be truly served, justice must based on rationality, not just revenge and emotion. It was disclosed in November that the 14-year-old Missouri girl committed suicide after an adult neighbor - the mother of one of Megan’s friends - allegedly carried out a cruel hoax. That mother, Lori Drew, reportedly set up a fake MySpace profile that appeared to belong to a hot-looking teenage boy named Josh Evans. The fake “Josh” initially befriended Megan but later cruelly told her he didn’t want to be friends with her. Megan, who had a history of taking antidepressant medication, responded by hanging herself.

She isn’t the first child to take her own life as a result of cyberbullying, but this case is bizarre in that the main perpetrator was an adult mom rather than a fellow teenager. Drew’s purpose in helping to create the fake profile was reportedly to determine whether Megan had said mean things about Drew’s own daughter.

No charges were filed against Drew. In announcing his decision not to prosecute, Charles County, Mo., prosecutor Jack Banas said, “There’s no way that anyone could know that talking to someone or saying that you’re mean to your friends on the Internet would create a substantial risk.”

That decision prompted outrage from Megan’s parents and many others.
Officials from Megan’s town of Dardenne Prairie wasted no time unanimously passing a statute that makes Internet harassment a local misdemeanor.

Others have called for state and federal legislation to make it a crime to post comments anonymously or under an assumed identity. While I understand the intentions behind the proposed legislation, I worry about such laws in the hands of overzealous prosecutors. What concerns me is the knee jerk reaction to a tragic but extremely infrequent occurrence.

The Megan Meier case, according to Nancy Willard, author of the book “Cyberbullying and Cyberthreats” is exceptionally rare. “The vast majority of situations involve teens harassing or bullying other teens.”

The case reminds me how many in the media, along with lawmakers and regulators, reacted to the handful of Internet predator cases reported over the past couple of years. A couple of tragic cases prompted attorneys general from several states to threaten lawsuits against MySpace, Facebook and other social networking sites. There have been media reports about an “epidemic” of predator attacks, yet very few substantiated cases.

Congress held numerous hearings, including one heavily publicized Senate Judiciary committee meeting last fall where teenage victim Alicia Kozakiewicz testified that “the boogey man is real. And he lives on the Net - he lived in my computer and he lives in yours. While you are sitting here, he is at home with your children.”

I don’t blame Alicia for saying those words. She suffered terrible atrocities at the hands of a brutal rapist. But what happened to her was extremely unusual. In the vast majority of cases, sexual perpetrators and their teenage victims know each other from the offline world. And in the few Internet related exploitation cases we do know about, the teen engaged in some form of risky behavior.

Cyberbullying is not so rare but as we combat the problem, we need to approach it with some common sense. Studies from both the Pew Internet & American Life Project and the University of New Hampshire Crimes Against Children Research Center have shown that about one-third of teens have been victims of cyberbullying and an equal number have bullied or harassed others.

What we need is a national school-based education program that targets this problem head on. Technology experts, psychologists, police, teachers and - most of all - teens themselves need to work together to make it clear to teens that bullying, whether in person or online, is unacceptable and may be dangerous.

Kids need to know it’s not cool to act as co-dependents to bullies; if they see it, they should intervene. And everyone needs to be aware that bullying can sometimes lead to tragedy, as in the case of young Megan or 13-year old Ryan Halligan, who took his own life in 2003 after being bullied by classmates.

As we begin a national discussion about bullying and harassment, it’s important that we avoid unintended consequences.

We need to be careful to draw the line between harmful harassment and constitutionally protected speech. Just as in the fight against terrorism, those lines can easily be blurred.

[godseyesore-2009]

There is nothing wrong with taking a stand against this through legislation. Drinking and driving is also a personal decision, but we all know that being held accountable is appropriate.

[hissteps4u]

This was a very bad act and it is a shame the prosecutor wont charge this Lady with something to discourage this kind of cruel act which ultimately lead to a child''s death.

I am sure the community will have her wear the scarlet letter for a long time to come and her children will be looked down upon.

They will likely move to get away from the local pressure and pariah status they have attained from the actions of their mother in all this. She is a scum bag.

[klingon69]

A limit on speech and controls against posting on the internet? How will they police this? Will we now have MySpace block informers. How did we control bullying prior to the internet? We didn''t! Bullies have existed probably all the way back to the caves. The stronger, faster...etc have always "picked on" the weaker. This is done in the schoolyard, at work, even in national governments.

[klingon69]

I am sure the community will have her wear the scarlet letter for a long time to come and her children will be looked down upon.

They will likely move to get away from the local pressure and pariah status they have attained from the actions of their mother in all this. She is a scum bag.
Posted by hissteps4u at 12:23 PM : Jan 30, 2008
Parents have always tried to protect their kids. Look at those cases where mothers have attacked or had attacked their child''s tormentor. It is difficult, as a parent, to see your child hurt by any means, and human nature is to try and get back at the other.

[klingon69]

There is nothing wrong with taking a stand against this through legislation. Drinking and driving is also a personal decision, but we all know that being held accountable is appropriate.
Posted by Godseyesore at 10:53 AM : Jan 30, 2008
Drinking and driving does not fall under Consatutional protection. Yes, the mother should be held responsible, and as another poster stated, they will probably have to move because of this. Her name will be known, regardless of where she moves to. Much like Monica Lewinsky trying to get a job, her name and face are known.

[erasmus6]

It is time for parents to start paying attention to what their children are doing. Their time on the internet should be limitied. They should not be allowed to sit in front of the computer, t.v., games, for hours at a time. And they should be monitored for what they are watching or doing.

The problem is that parents have become very lazy. They have no idea what their kids are doing. That is why we have so many problems today.

[johnstossel]

I think the punishment for Lori Drew should fit the crime. Hang her!!!!!!

[tomanyt]

Klingon69...Finally someone who makes a bit of sense.

[connapa]

The First Amendment does not give you the right to yell "fire" in a crowded movie house, or to incite a riot. There are certain limitations. There should also be certain limitations regardingwhat can be posted on any web site. Spreading/publishing false information regarding a person, whether in a newspaper or on the web, is still libel. The parents of that poor girl should sue that bi@@@ for libel and collect a few million. Maybe that will make the next person think twice before trying to do the same thing to another person.

[mgdvt]

To anyone being bullied on the internet - TURN OFF THE COMPUTER! Also works for television, radio, movies, games, etc.

[klingon69]

The First Amendment does not give you the right to yell "fire" in a crowded movie house, or to incite a riot. There are certain limitations. There should also be certain limitations regardingwhat can be posted on any web site. Spreading/publishing false information regarding a person, whether in a newspaper or on the web, is still libel. The parents of that poor girl should sue that bi@@@ for libel and collect a few million. Maybe that will make the next person think twice before trying to do the same thing to another person.
Posted by connapa at 01:18 PM : Jan 30, 2008
What did she say? Did she misrepresent something about the girl?
NO, she did set up a fake account, she did conduct online chatting with the girl, she did tell the girl that "he" did not want to talk to her anymore because she was mean to people. She did tell her that the world would be better off without her.
What did she do that would be considered libel or slander?

[erasmus6]

"TURN OFF THE COMPUTER! Also works for television, radio, movies, games, etc." posted by mgdvt


Good idea! Our world is deteriorating and it is because of all of these things. Kids sit in front of the t.v., computer, play games, watch movies and all they see is violence,*** and porn. Is it any wonder their is so much violence, rape, etc.? This is what our kids are growing up with. Kids today are out of control. And part of the reason for it is the lousy parents they have.

[hypnotoad72]

Our "society" has become so devolved...

Anything one might say to offer improvements would be hacked to bits by the radical right or leery loopy lamentable left. Usually by the left, I''ve discovered, but I don''t want to appear entirely one-sided... :)

[hypnotoad72]

And part of the reason for it is

Posted by erasmus6

---
Misusing the tv, computer, et al. Some people need the computer to do their jobs. TV, when not sitting in front of it 12 hours a day, is okay for unwinding or watching a video while exercising.

As with all things, the key is moderation.

Some learn later than others, and some others not only not learn, they act like tawdry animals.

A pity we need kids to have cell phones thanks to predatory filth... but then the kids use them to text message all day -- with tv commercials selling their service to parents, saying "unlimited text messaging!" because the parent in the ad is so upset over the high cost of texting. The ad I saw lacked context and to who made it - go fire yourself, you twit.

Trouble is, society is also supposed to be a two-way street. When people discuss "entitlement" and "We didn''t need ___" before, take it with a grain of salt too. After all, cell phones are hardly a luxury when there are no pay phones around; deemed obsolete BY cell phones. :)

[lonewolf9203]

This is the age we live in. Where one can post anything they want and be annonymous. if they had to make their identity know to the world they would not be as brave as they are. Bullying is a problem that has been going on forever and seems to have switched, in a way, from physical confrontation to nasty remarks and rumors on the internet. We call ourselves "evolved" but we are no better than those who partake in such acts if we do the same. Live by the golden rule, "Do unto others as you would have done unto you." I think it puts things into persective.

[korinsha]

Not that there is any excuse to harass and torture a child, but seriously, why do people let this get to them? You want to talk about cyber-bullying, I could go on for days about the junk I had to put up with in school. But... I discovered magic secrets.

One of them is the "Delete" button in your email. It''s hard not to open a nasty email with an attention-grabbing subject line directed at you such as "You''re a sl*t" or something. It''s even better on services like AOL where the sender can check the status of their nasty email, and see that you couldn''t even be interested enough to open it. Trust me, it drives them N-U-T-S when you don''t react! Treat the trash like spam and ignore it, no matter if it upsets you.

You can control your content online easily. You can control your message boards, instant messages, and email.