cyberbullying bill could land us all in jail

[normaljoe]

A recently introduced cyberbullying bill could land us all in jail—that is, if you have ever used an electronic medium to troll someone. HR 1966, the Megan Meier Cyberbullying Prevention Act, is named after the high-profile "MySpace suicide" victim Megan Meier. It's meant to prevent people from using the Internet to "coerce, intimidate, harass, or cause substantial emotional distress to a person." However, as with many bills of this nature, the murky language and vague standards leave much open to interpretation, which has caused critics to call it the Censorship Act instead.

HR 1966 was introduced in April by US Representative Linda Sanchez (D-CA) and it's supported by 14 other members of Congress. According to the text, individuals who bully others via any electronic means could face fines, two years in prison, or both. This, of course, could include those nasty text messages you sent to your ex on Saturday night, the questionable e-mail you sent to your brother, or those forum posts you made in which you called for someone who liked the new Star Trek movie to jump off a building.

The bill largely flew under the radar until fairly recently (thanks to NetworkWorld for the heads-up) but criticism has been building. The language in the bill is so vague, it could be interpreted to apply to practically any situation, including blog posts critical of public officials.

UCLA Law Professor Eugene Volokh went into detail on his blog, suggesting that numerous everyday situations could render regular citizens felons if their behavior is considered "severe" enough. "I try to coerce a politician into voting a particular way, by repeatedly blogging (using a hostile tone) about what a hypocrite/campaign promise breaker/fool/etc. he would be if he voted the other way. I am transmitting in interstate commerce a communication with the intent to coerce using electronic means (a blog) 'to support severe, repeated, and hostile behavior'— unless, of course, my statements aren't seen as 'severe,' a term that is entirely undefined and unclear," Volokh wrote.

Still, Sanchez insists that the bill isn't meant to dampen free speech online. "Congress has no interest in censoring speech and it will not do so if it passes this bill," Sanchez wrote on the Huffington Post. "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. That is: did they have the required intent, did they use electronic means of communication, and was the communication severe, hostile, and repeated. 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."

Although Sanchez seems to think there's no possibility for abuse with this bill, we all know what the road to hell is paved with. Despite her reassurance that it won't be used to censor Internet communications, there's no way to predict how judges would interpret such a law. One thing we do know is that cyberbullying cases have picked up since Missouri passed its own law following Megan Meier's death—if HR 1966 makes it past the House Committee on the Judiciary and into the books, we could see a serious uptick in those types of cases.

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/n...-jail-time.ars

[BeastIn916]

Crazy that someone would kill themselves over a myspace comment or something like that.

[normaljoe]

if you look at the history of that girl she was a victim of a truly sick woman who's daughter was a former friend of hers. The mother took that personal information from knowing the kid and "custom made" a perfect boyfriend for her. The over weeks, and dozens of messages, that woman used that persona to befriend, and romance a young, and emotionally unstable girl, with the intention of saying horrible things about her through her network of friends to embarrass, and humiliate her. All the while she knew this girl had emotional and psychological problems, knowing she was unstable, and being medicated for it.


The woman in that case should have been charged with murder, and got 25 years in prison. But sadly they law's have not kept up with the tech bubble. The victims parents did sue in California under civil laws, but that hardly comes close to any real justice for such an evil abuse of a young person.
If you take the time to research that story thoroughly it would make you sick. but I believe this knee jerk political response is not as thought out as it should have been. But it is a good thought to be considering the potential damage these trolls could have on young and immature, or emotionally disturbed adolescents.

Just look at some things allowed here. Although I believe most of our members are adults, I have no doubt some of what we look at as the "dumbest of the dumb" questions come from young men, that probably already have body image issues, hence the reason for investigating PES's. when you read those threads 90% of the reply's should be deleted, it's the same 20 douche-bag trolls tearing some kid up, and not adding any real advice, or help. it's pathetic it's allowed again and again.

I think some members of this community are really sick, and hurtful people that shouldn't be allowed to post. They do little but insult, and abuse other members of the community like 3rd grade bullys out on constant recess, except now they can spell (mostly).

The lack of administration oversight that lets these losers just reset their IP and make a new account after resetting there cable modem after they get IP banned frustrates me. If they would implement a security that logged serial numbers on mother boards (or OS) then we could be rid of these hurtful fools for good.


Sorry for the long winded reply, I'm coming down from vicodin after foot surgery, so the distraction helps me pass time till I can get another dose and get some sleep.

[stevey_6t9]

dam. i love flaming noobs on this site

[LeroyB]

three cheers for bigger government
(boo boo boo)

[DarnGoodLookin]

This just proves that everyone is turning into a bunch of pussies.

[steppenwolf]

hence the reason for investigating PES's. [1]

when you read those threads 90% of the reply's should be deleted, it's the same 20 douche-bag trolls tearing some kid up, and not adding any real advice, or help. it's pathetic it's allowed again and again.

I think some members of this community are really sick, and hurtful people that shouldn't be allowed to post. They do little but insult, and abuse other members of the community like 3rd grade bullys out on constant recess, except now they can spell (mostly).

The lack of administration oversight that lets these losers just reset their IP and make a new account after resetting there cable modem after they get IP banned frustrates me. [2]

[1] What is a PES?

[2] They could block the range of a members IP numbers.

[Nooomoto]

This just proves that everyone is turning into a bunch of pussies.

x2...

"Ow! Your words are hurrrttinnnnggg meeeeee. I'm calling the police!"

[awesome1]

flaming has always been my favorite pastime

[normaljoe]

[1] What is a PES?

[2] They could block the range of a members IP numbers.

PED's Sorry, was a typo (performance enhancing drugs)

[BITTAPART2]

Crazy that someone would kill themselves over a myspace comment or something like that.

not funny, unfortunate for this person..however, they can't blame it on myspace or people being cruel. I have found this world is very cruel in itslelf and as humans we must be resiliant and learn to turn the other cheek. She obviously had other things going on, deep routed issues.