Cyberbullying Laws

The concept of cyberbullying can be seen in several teen movies and books that have come up of late. Bullying and ragging have taken up the form of psychological warfare where people use cell phones, computers, the Internet, social networking sites and blogs to bully, rag or in general spoil the charter, reputation and in general the common image of any person. The governments of states have realized that cyberbullying is not just restricted to what we call as harmless school bullying, adults also tend to resort to communications and information technology for defamation of the character of some other person., this can have potentially grave implications. These potentially harmful implications of cyberbullying have promoted stated legislatures to take initiative in the form of laws against cyberbullying.

In the following two paragraphs, the concepts and general prevalence of cyberbullying, along with some legal implications and current laws have been discussed. Please note that this information is not a legal advice and is a mere representation of facts.

The Concept

The common definition of cyberbullying that is followed quite prominently in the United States is, 'the act of intentionally victimizing a person by the use of communications and information technology of any sort to torment, harass, assassinate the character of, disrepute, discredit, humiliate and embarrass the victim'. cyber stalking, cyberbullying and cyberharrassment are three closely related concepts, against which legal counter measures have been taken. Some states have passed individual legislation to curb stalking, bullying and harassment, however some states have laws that combine the three into one law. Cyberstalking and cyber-harassment are usually applicable to adults and the general public, whereas, cyberbullying which is more juvenile is mostly applicable to the student community.

The need for laws or legislature against cyberbullying is strong as the National Crime Prevention Council reports that over 50% of the youth and the students are affected by cyberbullying. Statistics of surveys show some concerning figures, such as 42% kids have been bullied when online, 35% have been threatened, 21% have received e-mail threats. These are just a few of the many statistics.

Federal and State Cyberbullying Laws

The Federal level legislation, Megan Meier Cyberbullying Prevention Act, has been placed before the House of Representatives, to pass a Federal level legislation. The state legislation such as the laws of cyberbullying of California principally concentrate upon cyberbullying among teens, juveniles and university or college students. Other similar unethical offenses are dealt with, by the cyber stalking and cyber-harrassment laws. Here are a few examples:

• The state of Arkansas, in a 2007 legislation, gave educational institutions more power to take action against bullies, even if the bullying was not committed within the school premises. Thus, basically, any action by a student on the web or through any communication comes under the jurisdiction of the institute.
• The state of New Jersey, had several laws for the prevention of cyberbullying. However, in 2007, this state also gave wider jurisdiction to institutes, empowering them to take action against bullies, irrespective of the fact whether the bullying has taken place on the campus or off the campus.
• Missouri state experienced a very shocking case of the suicide of 13-year-old Megan Meier which was caused as a result of cyberbullying. The effect was that cyber harassment is now considered to be a Class D felony, an Internet crime with a very harsh punishment.
• The state of Vermont, has been highly progressive in the matters of cyberbullying. The already stringent laws have an additional fine of $500, plus a bill in progress that aims at larger jurisdiction for the authorities and educational institutes.
• The state legislature of Idaho passed a law in 2006 that empowered the educational institutes to take action and suspend any cyber bully, who is of course a student.

Cyberbullying rules and laws are slowly becoming stronger and are passed to protect those people who have become unnecessary victims. Apart from the laws, it is however to opt for moral suasion, as our generation invented the Internet and hence it is also the duty of our generation to tech the coming generations the right use of the same.