A Rallying Cry Against Cyberbullying
A Rallying Cry Against Cyberbullying
June 7, 2008 6:00 AM PDT
Posted by Stefanie Olsen
C-Net News Blog
<http://news.cnet.com/8301-10784_3-9962375-7.html>
Lawmakers and Internet executives are perking up to the growing problem of
kid bully fights on the Web.
Legislators are newly arming themselves with laws that will protect kids
from being repeatedly harassed via the Internet, text messages, or other
electronic devices. In recent weeks, Rep. Linda Sanchez (D-Calif.) and
Rep. Kenny Hulshof (R-Mo.) proposed a federal law that would criminalize
acts of so-called cyberbullying (PDF). And Missouri Gov. Matt Blunt was
scheduled Friday to sign into state law a similar measure, but the event
was postponed because of inclement weather in St. Louis.
Both state and federal laws were prompted by the suicide of Missouri
13-year-old Megan Meier, who was the victim of repeated harassment on
MySpace.com. An adult neighbor was indicted in the case last month by a
grand jury in Los Angeles not on charges of cyberbullying, but on charges
of unauthorized access of a computer system with intent to harm another
person. (Missouri litigators said they didn't have a law to prosecute the
case at the time.)
The case has raised national awareness around the issue of cyberbullying.
"When you see adults preying on kids, we're learning how significant the
risks are," said Parry Aftab, an attorney and founder of the nonprofit
advocacy group Wired Safety.
Parents, teens, teachers, and Internet executives also came together this
week to hash out issues of digital fights at Wired Safety's International
Stop Cyberbullying Conference, a two-day gathering in White Plains, N.Y.,
and New York City. Executives from Facebook, Verizon, MySpace, Microsoft,
and many others talked with hundreds of teens and parents about how to
better protect kids online from harassment.
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